Honey Alabaster, Vein Cut.

Egyptian alabaster is a calcite stone that has been worked here since the age of the pharaohs, when it was cut for vessels and lamps for exactly the reason it is specified today: light passes through it.

Vein cut means the block is opened along the bed, so the amber banding runs as straight parallel stripes across the face. It is the more architectural of the two cuts — linear, orderly, and easy to align across several panels.

Backlighting is not decoration here, it is the point of the material. A bar front, a reception desk, a bath surround or a single wall in a dark room will read as an ordinary warm stone unlit and as something else entirely with light behind it. Plan the lighting cavity and the panel thickness together, before the pieces are cut.