The Materials ribbon consists of three sections of icons. Use the Material ribbon to apply a facet to an object’s front or back, or to wrap an object in a material.
Material section - Change the color and property of an object’s surface.
Texture section - Specify the layout of image files applied to object surfaces.
Material Gallery section - Store your most frequently used images and textures.
See also:
Selection Mode Section of the 3D Home Ribbon