Honed
A smooth, matte or low-sheen stone finish produced with progressively finer abrasives but stopped before a reflective polish develops.
Materials
Marble
A recrystallized carbonate rock composed predominantly of calcite, dolomite, or both; its mineralogy, grain, fabric, veining, and structural integrity directly govern how it can be carved.
Porphyry
A hard igneous stone with conspicuous crystals set in a finer matrix; in art history the term often refers especially to imperial purple-red porphyry quarried in Egypt.
Quarry
The working from which natural stone is extracted—and, for the sculptor, the first workshop in the life of a stone sculpture, where geology, orientation, block size, soundness, provenance, procurement, and communication begin to determine the work.
Stone Selection
The evaluation of a stone before carving for soundness, grain, bedding, veining, fissures, inclusions, color, weather resistance, dimensions, and suitability for the intended form.
Terracotta
Fired clay used as a permanent sculptural material, usually left in its natural fired color or given slips, glazes, paint, or other surface treatments.
Thixotropic Agent
An additive that makes a material thixotropic: relatively stable or gel-like at rest but more fluid when stirred, brushed, or sheared.
Bronze
A copper-based alloy, traditionally copper and tin, widely used for sculpture because it casts well, records fine detail, and can be finished with a durable patina.
Dalle
French for a slab or flag of stone.
Armature
An internal supporting framework used to carry clay, wax, plaster, or other modeling materials while a sculpture is being developed.