The Mirror
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Fig: JohnWilliam Waterhouse, Echo and Narcissus, 1903, oil on canvas, 43 in x 74 in - Wikimedia
This mirror matches the time and the origins of Luigi Pirandello (1867-1936), the author whose work we will look closely at in this story. It is a beveled mirror from around the turn of the 20th century, set in an embellished frame of Murano glass with flower decorations.
Looking at the history of the mirror, it is striking that it was independently invented across different continents during various times. Of course, the very first mirror was the reflection of water. The first manufactured ones were made out of volcanic glass in Anatolia, 8000 years ago. In Central and South America, mirrors were made of polished stone from 4000 to 3000 B.C. In Eastern cultures, they were made out of bronze, while in Mesopotamia and Egypt, copper was used to produce mirrors. Crystal and glass mirrors were used to make Louis XIV’s Hall of Mirrors in his palace of Versailles. The modern silver-glass mirror we know today was invented in 1835 by a German chemist.