John Dee’s mirror

Made from obsidian and used by him for what he called “angelic communications”, John Dee’s mirror did no small amount of damage to the reputation of a man who, in his day, was celebrated across Europe for his scientific knowledge.

Said to have been the inspiration for Shakespeare’s Prospero and JK Rowling’s Professor Dumbledore, English scientist John Dee was the court astronomer and advisor to Elizbeth I from 1550–70. A mathematician, astronomer, astrologer and alchemist — standard fare in science circles before the Enlightenment — Dee had one of the largest libraries in England and was an advocate of overseas expansion, credited with coining the phrase ‘British Empire.’

By the 1580’s, however, he’d turned heavily towards the supernatural. He left Elizabeth’s court to tour Europe with Edward Kelly, a ‘medium’ who claimed to communicate with spirits and angels.

Dee’s ‘scrying glass’ was used alongside crystal balls and multiple other mirrors to predict the future. After years of performing magic shows in front of European royalty, Dee returned to England to find his library ransacked and his scientific instruments stolen. With occult and supernatural practices out of vogue, he struggled to make a living and, despite being granted a post by Elizabeth at Christ’s College Manchester in 1595, died a pauper at the age of 81.

It’s believed that Dee acquired the mirror when he lived in Bohemia. New World artefacts were popular and on display on the kunstkammer (cabinets of curiosity) of Europe. Following years of speculation as to its origins, recent analysis of the mirror strongly suggest that it’s Aztec.

Before arriving at the British Museum in the 1960s, the mirror was owned by English writer and politician Horace Walpole.