When planning a new work, the sculptor usually made preliminary drawings and then a model. The models sometimes formed part of his contract with the patron. They could be rough or detailed, large or small, and were made in clay, terracotta, wood and wax. This is the only surviving model in alabaster for a lid of a German funerary monument. It depicts a recumbent woman surrounded by heraldic shields and devices.

There are two sorts of alabaster. Calcite alabaster is very hard and was used in ancient times. This object is made of gypsum alabaster which is a fine-grained, soft and smooth stone. Although at first glance it looks a little like marble, which it was intended to imitate, it was much easier to carve due to its softness, and alabaster objects were therefore significantly cheaper to produce.