The Manufacturing Technique of Etruscan Mirrors

Abstract

A detailed metallurgical examination of ten Etruscan bronze mirrors by chemical analysis, metallography (twenty photomicrographs are reproduced), X-ray diffraction, sclerometry is given. All specimens, except one, correspond closely in composition to a modern binary alloy used for castings. Impurities are remarkably low. No trace was found of a gold or silver coating on the reflecting surface but the authors suggest tinning as a possibility. Metallographs show the progress of corrosion, first inter-crystalline, which is followed by intracrystalline corrosion along the slip planes.