Thinking about the history of mirrors might not have been something you've done before, but they've had a very fascinating history.
Even today, we use small mirrors made of glass in scientific equipment to help us make some of the most amazing discoveries - but you might not have realised that the foundations for this were made in the early middle ages.
So today, we'll take you through everything you need to know about the history of mirrors, from earlier glass mirrors, to polished stone mirrors and polished metal mirrors (including polished copper, bronze mirrors, silver mirrors, etc.), all the way to the mirror making process of modern mirrors today.
Are you ready to learn about far more than just the glass mirrors we're used to? Then let's get started!
What is a Mirror?
Before we get started talking about mirrors, where they were first found, and the different ways cultures viewed them, we thought it'd be a good idea to explore what exactly a mirror is.
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Well, a mirror can be either curved or flat (flat mirrors are more useful for us in our everyday lives, but mirrors that are curved can be helpful, too, especially in instruments like telescopes). They're usually made of glass, and have a reflective coating made of metal applied to it to make them reflect light and show us our mirror image.
But How Do Mirrors Work?
Without getting too science-y, because we're interested in history today, mirrors work by reflecting light back at you.
When you stand in front of a mirror, light hits you, and it reflects off of you in a very haphazard and disorderly way. That means the light travels in all directions - and some, when standing in front of a mirror, will reflect directly at the mirror in front of you.
The light then travels through the glass mirror and hits the metal reflective surface behind. Those light rays then travel back at us, allowing us to see our mirror image in the mirror in front of us.
Pretty easy, right? But what happens when the surface of the mirror isn't flat?
The Three Types of Mirror
There are plane mirrors, concave mirrors, and convex mirrors, and they all react differently when light hits them.
- Plane mirrors are flat, so when the light hits them, nothing is distorted. That means when we look in a flat mirror, we get a pretty good idea that what's looking back at us is a true reflection of what stands before it - i.e. when we look at ourselves in a mirror, we can say with confidence that our reflection is a true representation of how we look to everyone else.
- Concave mirrors bow inward at the centre and are curved. Light rays that hit these mirrors appear as though they are coming from in front of the mirror. This, in turn, makes reflections appear nearer, and larger - creating a magnifying effect. These sorts of mirrors are used in halls of mirrors to make it look as though you're larger, but they have practical uses too. A shaving mirror, for example.
- Convex mirrors bulge outward at the centre and are still curved, but differently to concave mirrors above. Light rays appear as though they come from behind the mirror and so reflections appear further away and smaller. Again, it's common to see them in halls of mirrors, but they're useful too. Driving mirrors use the convex-style to capture as much of the road behind as possible, for example.
Why is all of this relevant? Because when you explore the history of mirrors, it's important to remember that everything we know now wasn't known before.
We only understand the different effects of the mirror's shape now because of years of research and observation. That means, when people thousands of years ago created mirrors, they wouldn't have had this information.
As you read the rest of today's post, keep this in mind. People reacting with fear to mirrors in ancient times might seem odd, but if you found yourself accidentally looking at yourself in a concave mirror for the first time, you might think you were looking at a monster, too, not a distorted reflection of yourself...
So, the history of mirrors - let's get started, shall we?
Mirrors in the Ancient World
Rather than producing mirrors, people in the ancient world likely used natural mirrors, such as water collected in a vessel, to create a small mirror. Nature was the true inventor of the looking glass by giving us water with reflective properties. This is where the idea that we could create mirrors came from in the first place - by observing the world around us and using the reflective properties of water to our advantage.
Of course, they don't work as well as the flat surface glass mirrors we use today, but that's because they relied on natural reflective surfaces back then, unaware of how uneven surface mirrors, such as water in a vessel, distorted their own reflection. (Remember the concave and convex mirrors we talked about above).
Thankfully, people soon realised that keeping water in vessels was not a permanent solution, and they began exploring ways of producing mirrors that were a little more durable.
The First Produced Mirrors
Anatolia
The first mirrors were found in Anatolia (modern day Turkey) dating back to 6000 BC, according to vision scientist Dr Jay Enoch, published in the vision science journal.
These mirrors were made from polished stone, such as naturally occurring volcanic glass polished obsidian mirrors. The surface roughness made them much poorer quality than mirrors we might expect today, but they certainly did their job.
Polishing the obsidian helped, and there are examples of how obsidian can be polished to a give it some amazing reflective properties.
The only downside to obsidian is that it's black, so whilst the surface could be polished to reflect light better, it still wasn't a perfect solution. The black colour made the image reflecting back at its user much darker, and seeing things clearly wasn't always possible.
There have been many obsidian mirrors found in central Turkey, mostly in the tombs of women, showing that perhaps mirrors were mostly important to women during this time.
Central and South America
Such mirrors, made of polished stone, have been found since, including in Central and South America, dating from around 2000 BC, showing how far-reaching the idea of manufacturing mirrors was during these ancient times.
Photo Credit: commons.wikimedia.org
The idea that, back then, mirror making ideas involving polished stone (such as volcanic glass) were spreading from modern day Turkey to Central and South America is fascinating, and shows that mirror makers were in high demand.
But the likelihood of different creators of mirrors meeting up somehow and discussing their methods isn't entirely plausible. Perhaps then, it's of cultural significance to think that people in lands hundreds of miles apart still worked to find ways of creating mirrors so they could look at themselves.
Maybe there's a base human need there? But we'll come back to that thought later...
Copper Mirrors
There are more examples of mirrors that progress from the early polished stone mirrors, especially ones made of copper.
Mesopotamians created polished metal mirrors made of copper in around 4000 BC, and the ancient Egyptians in ancient Egypt seemed to follow suit with polished copper mirrors in 3000 BC.
Photo Credit - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/545128
These copper based mirrors weren't used like we use metal in mirrors today. Rather than glass sitting on top of the metal, these mirrors were just solid metal. No glass involved.
They worked in much the same way as the polished stone example above - by polishing it well, the surface became more reflective, allowing you to see yourself in it. But the same problems around the colour of the metal and its effects on reflection remained.
It wasn't just polished copper used in metal mirrors, though, and other metals were used too.
Metal Mirrors in China
There are a few examples of polished bronze being used as mirrors from China in 2000BC, but there are also examples of copper and tin speculum metal mirrors being used around this time, too.
Photo Credit - commons.wikimedia.org
Speculum metals were precious, and so it is believed that back then, only the wealthiest people would have owned mirrors in China, especially of these high quality.
Others may have relied on more primitive methods, or used some other, less permanent method of mirror production. What they were, we can't be entirely sure, however, because no such examples of other mirrors besides these metal ones can be found in China from around this time.
Metal-Coated Early Glass Mirrors
Early mirror making techniques were eventually improved, and glass mirrors were being developed with metallic coatings. The way they were created differs greatly from our techniques for manufacturing mirrors today, but it was during the middle ages that mirror making really advanced.
Really, it's here that we first see the idea of glass being used with metal behind to create mirrors that are truly reflective. As you'll see below, it differs from our approach today, but the basic idea that light can pass through glass, hit a reflective metal, and then show us our reflections is the same.
Mirrors in the 1st Century AD and Middle Ages
Mirrors found in modern day Lebanon (then known as Sidon) used metallic coatings in the first century AD. These were the first mirrors that crudely resembled the ones we're used to today, and metal mirrors remained popular during this time. Gold leaf and lead were often the metal of choice to use as the coating on the glass, as these were readily available and highly reflective.
The Romans eventually discovered how they could use blown glass mirrors (by blowing a glass bubble) to create a reflective surface, but they more closely resemble convex mirrors.
Convex mirrors distort the face slightly, but these glass mirrors still proved popular around this time, as they were functional. Were they examples of a beautiful mirror? No, but they did their job - even if they didn't do them especially well.
Finally, making mirrors was becoming more advanced. Mirrors weren't quite perfected yet, but people at this time were slowly starting to develop new manufacturing processes.
Prior to discovering the glass blowing method, the Greco-Roman culture, throughout the middle ages, relied heavily on convex mirrors made of polished metal. Although still basic, the glass mirrors made using the blowing technique were far more practical.
16th Century Europe - Venetian Mirror
After the middle ages, techniques weren't really developed further until the 16th century, where we saw the birth of the infamous venetian mirror.
Venetian mirrors were developed in 16th century Venice, and they mark a turning point in the history of mirrors, as a new method of coating glass with a tin mercury amalgam was created.
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Using metal to coat glass to create mirrors wasn't a new idea, but the way the new metal amalgam could be applied was much more effective. And Venice soon became the home of manufactured mirrors because of their new way of applying a metal coating to the mirrors for a better effect.
The result was that venetian mirrors soon became the best quality mirrors around, and the Saint-Gobain factory in France began using this new way of manufacturing mirrors, too, showing how the method was spreading as one of the more effective ways of getting the job done.
Venice remained the go-to city for mirrors until the 17th century, when mirror production largely moved to London and Paris.
The Importance of Mirror Handles
It may seem odd to us now, but until the 17th and 18th centuries, the way a mirror looked wasn't particularly important. Only around this time did the handles of mirrors become important for decoration. Until then, mirrors were purely functional.
That is, except in ancient Chinese culture, where the back of their speculum mirrors were inscribed with images of plants and animals, and messages translating to 'sunlight'. Clearly, in this culture, the decorative nature of objects was more important - even to the point of inscribing basic copper and speculum mirrors.
Glass mirrors were still popular with the venetian method of coating, since no new method had been discovered, but handles were now being produced for style over function.
Unearthed buried mirrors from around this time show handles made of ivory, tortoiseshell, ebony and silver.
Manufactured mirrors by the 18th century were not only being made with handles of fine quality but also were being carved for decoration. Popular patterns included floral and classical ornaments.
This marks another turning point in the mirror's long history, because no longer was it just about function, but style too, and many European cultures, especially, began using mirrors as decoration.
The Invention of the Silvered Glass Mirror
The silvered glass mirror, using a thin layer of metallic silver to create a reflective surface, first began in 1835. They differed from the previous solid metal mirrors and glass-metal combinations we've been discussing today because of the thin layer of metal used.
The silvered glass mirror is accredited to German chemist, Justus von Liebig. His method was quite complex, and far more advanced than any of the mirrors that came before him.
A thin layer of metallic silver was put on to the clear glass through the chemical reduction of silver nature. Such mirrors changed the face of mirror production because only a small amount of silver was required, but the same light enhancing properties remained.
It turned out that it wasn't about the amount of silver used to reflect light back at the mirror's user; even a small layer would suffice.
Production sped up after this discovery, making mirrors far more affordable because they were more easily produced and less expensive to do so.
Producing Mirrors Today
Did the very first mirrors impact upon our modern mirror making? Well, the primitive vessels and water of 6000 BC probably didn't impact upon our production methods today, but they played a part.
It was von Liebig's invention in 1835 that truly resembles our production methods today. Instead of silver for the reflective coating, though, we now use aluminium or soda lime glass (although silver is still used for more expensive mirrors).
Today, a thin layer of molten aluminium or silver is added to glass in a vacuum to create the reflective coating. This has meant that producing mirrors is faster than ever.
Glass mirrors are still the norm today, and not much has changed on that front compared to the early Romans, but our method of producing these mirrors couldn't be more different.
How a Glass Mirror Can Aid Technological Advances
It seems odd, doesn't it? That a glass mirror was born out of ancient times when someone decided to use water as a sort of mirror, but they were.
Nowadays, a glass mirror offers more than just something to look at ourselves in. In fact, a glass mirror can be found in many different contraptions and inventions that we use to aid in our understanding of the universe, improve safety, and for our own entertainment.
Here's just a few:
- Projectors
- Lighthouse
- Telescopes (even the most high powered in the world have a glass mirror inside)
- Microscopes
- A safety glass mirror (the glass mirror is coated with a protective film to stop the glass from breaking into many different pieces)
- Dental mirror (without the glass mirror, we wouldn't have advancements in medical instruments)
- Astronomy-based and solar glass mirror
- Industrial machinery
- Cameras
- Lasers
As you can see, the humble glass mirror adds a lot to our lives. Whether it's entertainment or technological, a glass mirror plays a big part.
You might think that after reaching modern day mirrors and exploring how a glass mirror can improve multiple aspects of our lives, the story of mirrors would be over. But oh no, because the actual object of a mirror itself is only half the story...
Mirrors and the Different Cultural Perceptions
Mirrors are just objects until you place them in the context of different cultures to understand why developing mirrors was so important.
Everything from the way we view mirrors in terms of religious significance, magic, spirits, and just viewing human bodies differently matters, because this is all part of the history of mirrors. There are myths and legends surrounding mirrors, and it's important to explore these too.
A glass mirror to us now might just be a mirror. But to many others, years ago, a mirror was anything but an everyday object.
So, now that the cold hard facts are out of the way, let's explore a mirror's history from a juicier perspective!
Why Seeing Ourselves Matters?
A mirror is more than just a way to look at yourself in many cultures, but being able to see yourself is the thread that ties us back to our ancestors in the ancient world who went out of their way to build vessels for water so they could see themselves.
They could just have easily have stood by the flowing river, or looked down at themselves in a still lake. But they didn't. Something made them want to make water's reflective properties portable, and it was so they could look at themselves whenever they wanted.
You can see different human bodies as you walk around, but only a mirror allows us to see ourselves. There's both a power and a human need in being able to do that. That's why vessels were created in the ancient world, because it was so important to see oneself, and it still is today.
The way glass mirrors were created and used is important, but it's the human need to see ourselves that is a common thread throughout all of history, and it binds us all.
Modern Perceptions
'You'll waste away in front of the mirror.'
'If you look in that mirror any longer, you'll fall through it.'
'Do you have to spend so long in the mirror to put your makeup on?'
These are all things we'd have heard at some point in our lives, but really, we're no more 'obsessed' by our reflections today than we were thousands of years ago. And is it such a bad thing to look in the mirror, anyway?
There's no denying it increases our job and mating prospects because we can see how we look, and then make ourselves look better. This isn't a discussion on the philosophy of makeup, and it doesn't have to be.
We're ALL guilty of flattening our hair in the morning or removing sleep from our eyes in the mirror. Every one of us looks in the mirror whilst we brush our teeth to make ourselves look our best.
The point is, a mirror is an integral part of our lives, and we use them casually all the time without thinking about it. But has it always been that way?
Well, if you look at a 1970s study where an anthropologist introduced mirrors to an isolated tribe in Papua New Guinea, you'll see that mirrors are often met with scepticism and fear. Rather than being fascinated by the reflections of themselves they'd never seen before, the people of this tribe were terrified.
It's especially interesting to think about how human's natural reactions to seeing mirrors for the first time were most likely fear.
Early Scepticism of Obsidian Mirrors
The early obsidian polished mirrors of 6000 BC may have been used for more than just flattening your hair before meeting a friend. In fact, these mirrors have been linked to evil spirits.
It is believed that mirrors during this time were seen as dangerous things that only religious figures, such as shamans, should use to communicate with the spirit world. They could predict the future, according to some, and help religious figures protect the world from spirits.
How true this is or not can never be verified, but the idea that mirrors are somehow connected to spirits or the magical and mystical realms can be seen across multiple cultures, so it's likely that these early mirrors garnered the same sort of reactions.
Mirrors and Spiritual Beliefs
To see that mirrors were connected with spirits, magic, and mystical realms and had great magical or religious significance, you need only look at a handful of cultures.
Ancient Mexicans and Mayan Culture
Ancient Mexicans wore stone mirrors to bring life giving flames, start fires, and show their status. They were worn in deference to the sun god, or sun king.
The tradition continues with the Mayans, who buried mirrors with their elite dead, believing that a reflective mirror was a connection to an alternate dimension. Here, gods and their ancestors lived together, and communicating with them was possible through a mirror. This method of communication opened the possibility of being able to predict the future.
The Mayans chose only to bury a mirror with the elite, because they believed that by giving the dead a mirror in their tomb, they'd be able to communicate with others through the mirrors owned by the living.
Ancient Chinese Beliefs
The pattern continues with ancient Chinese beliefs. The mirrors made of speculum metals for the wealthy we talked about earlier were not just for admiring yourself. They were also used as a burial accessory to ward off evil spirits and protect tombs and homes from crime.
Mirrors were also covered or removed after a death to stop them from returning from the spirit world where they belong. This practice is actually quite common today in other parts of the world, but whether or not it's for similar reasons, we cannot say. It certainly has its basis in these ancient Chinese beliefs, though.
The idea that mirrors are connected to magic is prominent in Taoism. Mirrors help priests practice magic to call for spiritual protection and keep bad spirits away.
Even today, there's an almost spiritual feel to feng-shui, which Chinese cultures still use to place mirrors in a way that allows energy to flow freely around the room. Yes, it's a part of interior design tradition, but it's also relevant to the spiritual connection mirrors seem to have.
Black Mirrors
Perhaps the most famous mirror of all, though, is the black mirror (made of obsidian). Even today, it's associated with black magic and is used as a scrying mirror which allows people to look into the future. This type of mirror is still used today and there are many spiritual and magical people that believe in the power of the black mirror.
Nostradamus, a famous 16th century French philosopher, used these types of black mirrors and other similar mirrors to make predictions (which many argue came true) and gain occult knowledge. They still hold similar importance to many people today.
Modern Superstitions
Related to spiritual beliefs, but slightly different, are the modern superstitions we hold today. Ever hear that if you break a glass mirror you'll have seven years' bad luck? Well, that's not just something we say - it might date back to the first humans.
You see, early beliefs were that mirrors didn't show your reflection, but your soul. Breaking a mirror or interfering with your reflection in any way was thought to be a sure-fire way of damaging your connection to the soul and losing it forever.
Although today we don't hold the belief quite as seriously, it's this idea that mirrors connect us to our souls that means breaking a mirror would bring such bad luck.
But why seven years?
Well, we have the ancient Romans to thank for that. It was their belief that it takes seven years for life to renew itself, so, if you broke your connection to your soul by breaking glass, or smashing a mirror, you wouldn't die, but you would have to wait seven years for your soul to be renewed.
There are ways to fix this, though, according to the Romans. If you didn't want to wait seven years, there were a few things you could do:
- Bury all pieces of the broken mirror by moonlight
- Throw all pieces of the broken mirror in running water
- Pound every little piece of the mirror to make sure it reflects nothing again
- Leave the broken mirror exactly where it is for seven hours before clearing it up
- Lighting seven white candles and blowing it out at midnight, the start of the next day, in one breath
- Touching a tombstone to rid yourself of bad luck
By taking part in these traditions, you'd be saved from the seven years' bad luck. So if you break a mirror, it might just be worth a try...
Round-up
Mirrors are fascinating objects with a long history - much longer than most of you will have realised, we're sure. But it isn't just the different ways different cultures created mirrors that's important, but why they did, and what they believed mirrors were capable of doing too.
In many ways, mirrors are different today. How we make mirrors, the materials we use for mirrors, and the different styles of mirrors are all different from how they were centuries ago. Just the fact that we care how a mirror looks now is an important change.
But we still use mirrors to look at ourselves, and a mirror is still something we don't fully understand. We know a glass mirror reflects our faces, but that doesn't stop some of us from using it to look at our souls, divine the future, and protect ourselves from spirits like those who came before us. Maybe there really is just something slightly mystical and spiritual about an object that shows us our faces in a way nothing else can.
The point is, a mirror is more than just a mirror. It's a window into our past too, and you can see the differences in how we made them, and how we used them, but you can also see how some of the superstitions and legends surrounding them remain to this day.
That's why knowing mirror history is important, because it binds us to our past, it shows us how we look in the present, and, for some, it might even show us our futures...
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