Antique Grand Tour Abaster Plaque of Great Men of the Renaissance c.1820 19th C

Dante Alighieri,

Or simply Dante (c. 1265 – September 14, 1321), was an Italian poet from Florence. His central work, the Commedia (Divine Comedy), is considered the greatest literary work composed in the Italian language and a masterpiece of world literature. In Italian he is known as "the Supreme Poet" (il Sommo Poeta). Dante and the Divine Comedy have been a source of inspiration for artists for almost seven centuries. Dante, with Petrarch and Boccaccio are also known as "the three fountains". Dante is also called "the Father of the Italian language". The first biography written on him was by his contemporary Giovanni Villani. The most famous section in La Divina Commedia is the first third of it, the first 34 cantos of the poem, called Inferno, which is Dante's vision of hell.
 

Alabaster - is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite also known as onyx-marble, Egyptian alabaster or Oriental alabaster.

In general, but not always, ancient Alabaster in Egypt and the Near & Middle East is calcite. Alabaster in medieval Europe is gypsum. Modern Alabaster is probably calcite, but may be either. Both are easy to 'work' and as both are slightly water soluble, have been used for making a variety of indoor artworks and carvings, as they will not survive long outdoors.

The finer kinds of alabaster are employed largely as an ornamental stone, especially for ecclesiastical decoration and for the rails of staircases and halls. Alabaster is also used widely by the sculptors.

In Europe, the centre of the alabaster trade today is Florence, Italy.