Circular obsidian mirrors are depicted in Aztec codices written soon after the time of the Spanish conquest in the early 16th century, and in depictions of the deity Tezcatlipoca (“Smoking Mirror”) who had powers of divination. The other mirror and the obsidian slab, likely a portable altar, came from the Ucareo region, about 150 miles farther west.īoth regions were ruled by the Aztecs, who had a tradition of making obsidian mirrors for magical purposes, says archaeologist Stuart Campbell of the University of Manchester, the lead author of the new study. The results show the obsidian in John Dee’s mirror and one of the other mirrors could only have come from the Pachuca region of central Mexico. Researchers used a portable x-ray fluorescence scanner to examine John Dee’s mirror, as well as three other obsidian objects-two almost-identical circular mirrors and a polished rectangular slab-acquired by the British Museum from collectors in Mexico in the 1800s.īecause chemical elements glow differently under x-rays, the scanner was able to determine a geochemical “fingerprint” for each obsidian object based on the proportions of titanium, iron, strontium, and other substances each contained. The mirror was purchased by the British Museum in the late 1800s and is currently on display in museum’s Enlightenment Gallery. This particular “spirit mirror,” attested in the 1650s as part of John Dee’s skyring collection, was eventually purchased in the 1700s by the writer Horace Walpole, who believed it belonged to the English Renaissance polymath and was used by him in magical rituals. ![]() Tales abound of Dee’s occult exploits, including his practice of skrying, or conjuring angels and spirits through clairvoyant tools such as crystals and mirrors.
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