In any handbag there is a small mirror, there is no apartment in the world without a mirror. The history of the mirror goes back in time. The age of the oldest mirror on earth is about seven thousand years. Before the invention of mirror glass, stone and metal were used: gold, silver, bronze, tin, copper, rock crystal.
There is a legend that Medusa Gorgon has turned into a stone, seeing her image in the shiny polished shield of beautiful Perseus. Scientists believe that the earliest mirrors were found in Turkey polished pieces of obsidian, numbering about 7500 years. However, no ancient mirror could, for example, be seen from behind or discern the shades of color.
Everyone knows the ancient Greek myth of Narcissus, which lay for hours on the shore of the lake, admiring its reflection in the water as in a mirror. During the times of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, wealthy people could afford to buy a mirror made of polished to shiny metal. Making such a mirror was not an easy task, but polished mirrors made of steel or bronze were no more than a palm. Also, the surface of such a mirror quickly oxidized and had to be constantly cleaned.
Experts in the field of linguistics believe that the word - a mirror - came from ancient Rome - the Latin writing looked like - Spektrum. Then the word underwent phonetic, morphological, lexical translation in different languages and began to be used everywhere. For example, in German it became Spiegel.
The invention of the mirror in the modern sense can be attributed to 1279 when Franciscan John Pecam described a way to cover ordinary glass with a thin layer of lead.
The first manufacturers of mirrors were the Venetians. The technology was quite complex: a thin layer of tin foil was applied to the paper, which on the other hand was covered with mercury, the paper was laid again on the mercury, and only then overlayed with glass, which pressed down on these layers, and meanwhile the paper was taken out of them. Venice zealously guarded its monopoly on mirrors.
In 1454, Dougie issued an order forbidding the mirrors to leave the country, and those who have already done so ordered to return to their homeland. The "nonreturnees" were threatened with punishment against their relatives. In the footsteps of the particularly persistent fugitives, murderers were sent. As a result, the mirror of three centuries remained incredibly rare and fantastically expensive goods. Even though such a mirror was very cloudy - and yet it reflected more light than it absorbed.
The French King Louis XIV was obsessed with mirrors. It was at his time that the company "San Gobain" unraveled the secret of the Venetian production, after which prices fell sharply. Mirrors began to appear on the walls of private homes, in picture frames. In the XVIII century, two-thirds of Parisians got them. Besides, the ladies began to wear on the belt small mirrors, attached chains.
This process of mirror production remained with minor changes until 1835, when the German professor Justus von Liebich discovered the fact that, using silver, you can get a much clearer image in the mirror.
At the same time, how late the glass mirror appeared in the history of mankind, can not but cause amazement, as it plays a huge role in superstition and folk culture in general. Already in the Middle Ages in the sentence of a French witch among the list of her magical devices appears and a piece of mirror. With the help of a mirror, Russian girls were guessing at the groom. Mirror as if opened the space of the other side, and it manipulated and frightened, so treated with caution: sometimes hung, sometimes brought the cat, sometimes turned away to the wall, and sometimes broke.
The possibility to see oneself from outside led to colossal consequences: Europeans began to control their behavior (and even the expression of faces), the emancipation of the individual increased, and the philosophical reflection intensified (even this word means "reflection"). When in Europe at the end of the 19th century there were problems with a person's self-identification, it found its way out in the increased attention to the mirror.
Mirroring of the premises in Russia, its palaces and noble estates has a two hundred year history. In ballrooms, bright and tall, the Russian nobility paid special attention to the placement of windows and mirrors to create a space effect.
Ten years ago, the usual mirror set in the interior of the apartment was limited to mirrors in the bathroom, hallway, and closet. With the development of renovation, exclusive interior, the art of using mirrors in the room has found a second breath.
An interesting trend in recent years - a departure from the mirror as a subject of utilitarian function and use to enhance the illusion of light and space, hiding the shortcomings of the layout of the home. The explanation is very simple. We are still experiencing a shortage of meters, inconveniences in the layout and other architectural flaws. The mirror is a very powerful tool for solving such problems. The correct distribution of light sources and their reflection significantly extends the boundaries of the room, creating the illusion of infinity of space.
The plane of the mirror is subjected to design experiments: it is in every possible way combed, painted, "aged", give chromaticity, use the reflective properties of sheet metal. The baguette is used to decorate mirrors.