What Is the Origin of Mirrors?

Mirrors have a long and winding history, from natural mirrors to metals and finally to glass.

Ancient Natural Mirrors

Ancient Mirrors - Anatolia

The first man-made mirrors were made out of the volcanic rock obsidian. Some of the oldest obsidian mirrors date to around 6,000 B.C.E. in the Neolithic Age using a dating method called obsidian hydration dating.

Early Materials

Various metals were used to make mirrors including brass, bronze and copper. They were shaped and buffed until they reached the apex of reflectivity. Biblical data corroborates this in Exodus 38:8, "He made the basin of bronze and its stand of bronze, from the mirrors of the ministering women who ministered in the entrance of the tent of meeting."

10th Century

Ibn Sahl was an Arab in the 10th century, whom scholars credit with creating the first parabolic mirrors. Spain and Italy were major producers of glass mirrors from the 10th century through the Renaissance.

19th Century to Today

In 1835, Justus von Liebig, a German chemistry professor, was the first to produce a glass mirror using a perfected silvering technique. Mirrors were silvered with tin, mercury or silver. Today, aluminum is the main metal used for mirror silvering.

References

• The Mirror: A History

Resources

• Glass Association of North America