Who made the first mirror?
Asked on: Sep 23, 2023 05:32 AM
Oh, this is a shiny question! The first mirrors were not made by humans but by Mother Nature herself. You know when you look at a calm body of water and see your reflection? That's the world's first mirror right there. But let's talk about the man-made ones.
The earliest manufactured mirrors were pieces of polished stone such as obsidian, a naturally occurring volcanic glass. These were made in Anatolia (now Turkey) around 6000 BC. Imagine trying to fix your hair in one of those! They didn't reflect very clearly and you might have ended up with some 'prehistoric' hairstyles.
The ancient Egyptians took it a step further around 3000 BC. They made mirrors from polished copper and later, bronze. These mirrors were round with handles and actually reflected quite well, considering they didn't have any modern polishing tools or chemicals.
Fast forward to the first century AD in Sidon (modern-day Lebanon) where the Romans began to make glass mirrors backed with gold leaf. This was an improvement but still not close to what we're used to today. It wasn't until the 16th century in Venice where they started making clear glass mirrors coated with a thin layer of metallic silver. Now that's more like it!
So, there you have it - from nature's own reflections to polished stone, metal and finally clear glass, our mirror history is quite reflective, don't you think?
History of Mirrors Mirror Mirror: A Brief History of Mirrors | Smithsonian Magazine
