Glass mirror with metal backing
Espejo de vidrio con respaldo de plomo o estaño
- Date
- c. 100 CE · confidence low
- Place
- Sidon, Lebanon
- Credited to
- Glassmakers of Sidon (according to Pliny the Elder)
- Field
- Communication
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
Small discs of blown glass with a thin layer of molten lead or tin on the back that reflect the image more sharply than polished bronze. A precursor of the modern mirror.
Roman glass mirrors were small and of low quality; the polished bronze mirror continued to dominate into the Middle Ages.
What it led to
- Venetian glass mirrors with a mercury amalgam
- Reflective optics and burning mirrors
- Visual self-awareness and portraiture
- Optical instruments with reflective surfaces
Built on
- Glassblowingc. 50 BCE
- Polished bronze mirror
- Lead and tin metallurgy
Made possible
- Newtonian reflecting telescope1668
- Venetian mirror
- Periscope