Figures sulphur preparations in lab must be contaminated by phosphorus (10)

I believe the answer is:

sculptures

'figures' is the definition.
(sculpture is a kind of figure)

'sulphur preparations in lab must be contaminated by phosphorus' is the wordplay.
'sulphur' becomes 'S' (synonyms).
'preparations in lab' becomes 'cultures' (as in microbial cultures).
'must be contaminated by' is an insertion indicator.
'phosphorus' becomes 'P' (P is the chemical symbol for phosphorus).
'cultures' placed around 'p' is 'culptures'.
's'+'culptures'='SCULPTURES'

I've seen this clue in The Times.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.