Onyx

Egyptian onyx — banded, translucent stone for backlit walls, counters and feature surfaces. Supplied as blocks, slabs and cut-to-size.

Egyptian alabaster is a calcite stone worked here since the age of the pharaohs, when it was cut for vessels and lamps for precisely the reason it is specified today: light passes through it. Vein cut opens the block along the bed into straight amber bands; flower cut opens it across, into blooming cloud-like figures. Both belong where they can be lit from behind — a bar front, a reception desk, a bath surround, one wall in a dark room. Plan the lighting cavity and the panel thickness together, before the pieces are cut, because backlighting is not decoration here. It is the point of the material.