Use and meaning of the mirror in decoration

Elaine Rabinovitch, social psychologist and author of the thesis “Vitrinespelhos-Brasil”, about the way of living and the ornaments of popular Brazilian houses, argues that the objects in the house not only portray, but lead to changes in behavior and values.

In this sense, the mirror can leave a purely decorative place, or the aristocratic chic heritage – associated with traditional values ​​and good manners -, to act as a transforming element of space, as it dialogues with glazed doors, increases the refraction of light, multiplies its bright side, offering new possibilities.

Mirror games can have multiple functions. Just place them in strategic positions to promote a real revolution:

· Create an extra window in the environment, bringing in light from outside;

· Transporting the external landscape to the internal environment (garden, swimming pool);

· Create the illusion of spaciousness in small spaces or of continuity in an environment (at the end of a corridor, for example).

against the evil eye

It is at the entrance to the house, preferably in the hall, right in front of the door, that numerous traditions recommend placing the mirror as a guardian. As if malevolent forces could not penetrate the shining face, the icy glass of the mirror.

There was a time when researchers and mystics believed that light came out of the human eye and illuminated objects, therefore the gaze was capable of emitting bad fluids.

How mirrors are made

The first reflected images were obtained in Egypt and ancient Greece, with gold, silver and bronze polishing. This was the case until the 14th century, when craftsmen from the port city of Venice, Italy, discovered the technique of producing mirrors from sheets of glass and crystal, covered with tin or mercury. The secrets of this art were kept under lock and key and artisans worked under surveillance.
Venetian movable mirrors, as expensive as jewels, filled the great castles and rooms of the aristocracy until the 18th century. In addition to being decorative, they were symbols of wealth and ostentation.

In Brazil, mirrors were produced until recently by hand, made of glass, as crystal was very expensive, imported from Belgium. “The difference between glass and crystal depends on the amount of lead added when manufacturing the sheet – the less lead, the purer the crystal. The shiny face is made from silver nitrate. To recognize the quality of the mirror, you have to look diagonally: the glass produces ripples and the crystal is completely flat, without distortions”, explains José Seixas, artisan of a traditional glass shop, established for years in São Paulo.

Restore does not pay

Low prices and a wide variety of industrialized models discourage the restoration of these objects and it rarely pays to give a very damaged piece a new silver bath.

The only way to guarantee the durability of mirrors is to keep them away from moisture. Therefore, bathroom ones have a shorter life. Quality assurance is up to the manufacturer’s tradition.