Catoptric Cistula

• The Catoptric Cistula is a chest or box with multiple sides, usually six, lined with Mirrors made with a coating of polished Tin.
• When an object is placed inside the box, viewers peep through a hole and see either hundreds of objects, or deformed or magnified images.

Description

• The Catoptric Cistula meant ‘Mirror Theatre’ and was a very popular Entertainment in Ancient Rome.
• Using the laws of reflection, the images are multiplied many times and appear to be distant.
• Greatly detailed scenes could be created from just one image of a book, house, tree or coin to create vast libraries, cities, forests or coin hoards.
• Alternatively, an animal would be placed inside, which then tried to relate to all the other images of itself.
• The Kaleidoscope is a modern equivalent to the Catoptric Cistula.