The First Mirrors

The earliest manufactured mirrors were pieces of polished stone such as obsidian, a naturally occurring volcanic glass. Examples of obsidian mirrors found in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) have been dated to around 6000 BCE. Mirrors of polished copper were crafted in Mesopotamia beginning around 4000 BCE, and in ancient Egypt from around 3000 BCE. Polished stone mirrors from Central and South America date from around 2000 BCE onwards. Some of the earliest examples of Bronze Age copper mirrors were produced by the Qijia culture (2200 BCE-1600 BCE)  distributed around the upper Yellow River region of Gansu (centered in Lanzhou) and eastern Qinghai, China.

Glass began to be used for mirrors in the 1st century CE, with the development of soda-lime glass and glass blowing. The Roman scholar Pliny the Elder claims that artisans in Sidon (modern-day Lebanon) were producing glass mirrors coated with lead or gold leaf in the back. The metal provided good reflectivity, and the glass provided a smooth surface and protected the metal from scrathes and tarnishing. However, no archeological evidence of glass mirrors dating  before the third century CE have been found.

Socrates urged young people to look at themselves in mirrors so that, if they were beautiful, they would become worthy of their beauty, and if they were ugly, they would know how to hide their disgrace through learning.

Image: Greek bronze box mirror with relief of a woman wearing a silver earring from the last quarter of the 4th century BCE at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

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Corning Museum to feature glass inspired by Ancient Rome

Open a major exhibition of glass in the middle of February?

That's what the Corning Museum of Glass will do Friday when it unveils "Reflecting Antiquity: Modern Glass Inspired by Ancient Rome."

"This spectacular assemblage offer scholars and the general public alike a new perspective on the history of Roman glass and its influence on modern production," said David Whitehouse, executive director of the Corning Museum of Glass and co-curator of the exhibition.

More than 70 of the 112 objects on view in the exhibition -- prepared in cooperation with the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles -- come from the collection of the Corning Museum of Glass. The other objects are on loan from a variety of museums around the world and from private collectors. The exhibition will be on display through May 27.

Among the objects in the exhibition:

•The fourth century Rothschild Lycurgus Cup from the British Museum.

•The Patella Cup from the Corning Museum of Glass, an example of original Roman mosaic glass.

•The Auldjo Jug from the British Museum, an example of Roman cameo glass.

•Imitations of Venetian Renaissance originals, including the 1878 copy of the Coppa Barovier.

•Gold glass, represented by the fourth century Disch Cantharus from the Corning Museum of Glass.

Associated programs:

•At the daily live glassblowing demonstrations, glassmakers will use the techniques of ancient glass artists to reproduce the forms used by Roman glassmakers.

•Visitors also will be offered hands-on activities, including creating designs for their own Roman-style patterns with paper rubbings.

•During the exhibition, visitors may design sandblasted vessels inspired by ancient Roman glass styles. If you enjoyed this post, never miss out on future posts by following me by email!