11-05-2007, 04:55 PM
In 15th cent. paintings, plate armor is often shown with a mirror polish, clearly reflecting other objects. This might be a display of painterly virtuosity, but the artists clearly knew what reflections looked like in curved, polished steel surfaces. I believe the burnisher (a curved rod of smooth, hard steel) was known to the ancients. I've put a deep mirror polish on steel with one, but it's an extremely slow and tedious process.
Pecunia non olet