Softer than velvet and more expensive than gold, alabaster used to be the most popular material in European sculpture. Some call it “calcite,” others “gypsum,” and its color, often veined, ranges from ghost white to café au lait. Alabaster was used in Ancient Near Eastern bas reliefs and has been extracted in Spain, Italy, and England. Baroque altars, tombstones, lamps, and collectibles have been chiseled out of the pale stone, polished, and sometimes dyed to resemble marble. On view here are 130 masterpieces in alabaster, from the 14th to the 17th centuries. Highlights include works by André Beauneveu, Jean Mone, and Conrad Meit. —Elena Clavarino