"The Veiled Virgin" is a statue carved by Giovanni Strazz, the translucent veil was made of what material?

The Veiled Virgin is a Carrara marble statue carved in Rome by Italian sculptor Giovanni Strazza (1818–1875), depicting the bust of a veiled Virgin Mary. The exact date of the statue's completion is unknown.

The veil gives the appearance of being translucent, but in fact is carved of marble. The technique is similar to Giuseppe Sanmartino's 1753 statue Veiled Christ in the Cappella Sansevero in Naples.

Other examples of Strazza's work may be seen in the Vatican Museums and at the Archbishop's Palace in Milan. The St. John's Veiled Virgin was described by The Newfoundlander (4 December 1856) as the second such work by Strazza on the subject of a veiled woman.

There are similar marble busts depicting veiled women in Canada, the United States, Ireland and England. None, however, are as meticulously crafted as the Newfoundland Veiled Virgin by Strazza: the facial features and the braids in the hair are clearly visible through the stone veil.