The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-02-01
MIRRORS OF ANTIQUITY.
Ingenious GInsscs Ia Which Bc!les
os 'Vhra:c Viewed Themselves.

Ingenious GInsscS Ia Which Dc!les
os 'i'hra:c Viewed Themselves.
There is room for long dissertations
upon the part played by the mirror i'll
ancient and modern times He must
have been Il very great man who first
invented the mirror, and it is most
unjust that his name has not descended
to posterity. For an image Of herself
woman was long forced to be content
with gazing into some linpid stream or
spring. but as sooner or lator she must
always have her wish it came to pass
that mirrors made their appearance. in
rude form at first. soon in more elegant
style. In very early times, as civiliza-
ton advanced, genuine mirrors were
produced \ good many are found, cvi-
IDENTIFY dating back to the third and
fourth centuries yet real objects cf art.
In 1851 NJ TIL Habert, superintendent
Of the Archaeological museum o.
Rheims, collected number from Gall
ic-Relnan tombs. These little mirrors
had been made by the simple process OF
blowing large glass bubble and cut
ting out Of it with scissors a curved
fragment. Melted lead was then poured
into the ccncavity of these slight shells
which remind us Of the glasses of our
watches, and each mirror WAS mounted
il a little metal frame.
What is curious is the general extent
OF this manufacture. Recently thrce
very similar mirrors. coming from such
widely separated regions as Roman
Thrace and Byzantine Egypt. and all
of the same composition. have been
submitted to NJ Berthelot for e1amina
ton.
In 1855 the ruins Of q rustic temple
dedicated by the Thracians of the sec
ond and third centuries Of orr era to
the naiads of the adjacent stream were
discovered near little Bulgarian vii
lage. Among other OBJECTS brought to
light were 13 little round glass mirrors,
each mounted on a stand and encircled
bv a metal frame 1t is one of these lit
tie mirrors, bearing on the back of the
frame plate with the Greek inscrip-
ton, 81 am beauty that N. Berthelot
has pronounced to be a votive offering
to the divinities of the rustic temple. It
exhibits no particle Of amalgam or tin.
no metal but pure lead.
In 1861. in the researches institut-
ed by thc G;simet museum among the
ruins Of the Egyptian city OF Arsinoe,
four burial places were discovered be-
longing to different periods-Roman,
Dvzant;ne and Copt. Here again. among
many mirrors lined with lead. NJ.
Bertllelot examined fwo distinct types.
One exhibited plaster frame OF pen
taeonal form. With a sor5 OF iriaelgglar
redi1aeng. beneath which Is ilnbe,.5!ed
rlle convex Iced lined lni1res- IL around
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