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Date: | Tue, 12 Jun 2007 01:12:02 +0000 |
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Try searching for:
mirror (flake,scallop,scalloped)
on ebay (in item description as well as title). Results in several hits --
all in Australia curiously enough.
Marty
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-------------- Original message --------------
From: Richard Wright <[log in to unmask]>
> I had wondered whether the example I illustrate is a once-off produced by an
> enthusiastic amateur.
>
> However since my original post I find that there was one sold on Ebay that also
> looks like having a flaked edge.
>
> http://cgi.ebay.com.au/VINTAGE-ART-DECO-BEVELLED-EDGE-WALL-MIRROR_W0QQitemZ23013
> 8393280QQihZ013QQcategoryZ364QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting
>
> The mirror itself is different in shape. So if I am correct in my interpretation
> of the Ebay item then it looks as if lithic technology was, for a time,
> generally applied to the decoration of mirrors.
>
> Incidentally, in the case of the mirror I illustrate there is no bevel around
> the edge of the glass before the flakes were struck. So they were struck from a
> 90 degree intersection between the striking platform and the dorsal surface.
>
> How was it done with such regularity of size, form and spacing of flake scars?
>
> My speculation is that the glass was held on a flat surface in a jig. There was
> a weighted bar, with a series of regularly spaced protrusions aligned along its
> underside to act as punches. This bar then dropped down in runners from a fixed
> height onto the glass, producing all the scars on one edge simultaneously. I
> cannot believe that a knapper worked around the edges with a hammer and punch.
> The scars look too regular in form and spacing.
>
> Are these mirrors the only case of the modification of stone age technology to
> automated mass production of industrial goods?
>
> Richard
>
>
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