![]() ![]() Oxidization typically resembles dark blotches on the mirror, and is very rarely uniform. Any micro scratches or abrasions will also result in some amount of oxidization. Due to the accumulation of moisture seeping between the glass and the sheet of metal, oxidation will most likely be visible towards the bottom of the mirror. Oxidizationīecause antique mirrors are generally backed by a very thin sheet of reflective metal, like silver or gold, you can expect to notice some level of oxidization over time. If there are no imperfections, however, it’s more likely that the mirror is a modern recreation, even if it otherwise looks like an antique mirror. Other imperfections like inconsistent glass thickness or waviness could also indicate that the mirror is old, though it isn’t always a guarantee the piece is an antique. ![]() Modern manufacturing of glass has largely eliminated bubbles and other impurities from being captured in panes, so seeing bubbles often indicates the mirror you are looking at is an antique. Outside of the use of tin and mercury in Venetian antique mirrors, which causes a mirrors to develop a crystalline appearance as it ages, there are other telltale signs of a mirror’s age. METAL HAND MIRROR HOW TOIt wasn’t until the invention of silver-backed glass mirrors and subsequent mass production capabilities that the objects started to become a staple in middle class households.Ī Régence Style Carved Giltwood Mirror, 19th Century, sold for $1700 via Bonhams (January 26, 2021) How to Identify an Antique MirrorĪntique mirrors are commonly made of glass coated by silver, gold, or chrome. One of the most distinctive early styles was the Venetian Renaissance mirror, created by coating one side of glass with tin and mercury. With the invention of glass blowing, mirrors also became increasingly popular, though initially reserved for the wealthy. ![]() Over time, the proliferation of mirrors coincided with technical developments. Some metal-backed glass mirrors, much like the ones we use now, were first produced around the first to third century AD in ancient Rome. Other ancient civilizations used polished metals to produce the same effect. As far as back as 6,000 BC in Anatolia (modern day Turkey), humans were thought to have created some of the first mirror-like objects by polishing stones to create a flat, reflective surface, most likely out of volcanic obsidian. A George II carved giltwood wall mirror, probably Irish, mid-18th century, Est: £10,000 – £15,000 via Sotheby’s London (November 13, 2020)īefore the invention of mirrors, historians believe that people used reflections in pools of water to evaluate appearance. ![]()
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