Posted on 03/16/2011 9:49:32 AM PDT by Oshkalaboomboom
We have a Sail Brothers bronze slag lamp that was made around 1900-1910. As you can see from the picture we use it as one of the regular lamps in our house (we have it plugged into one of those "as seen on TV" remote switches so we don't have to touch the lamp itself). It's quite nice with a good patina but I'm wondering if that was the color the Sail brothers had in mind when they originally made the lamp 100 years ago. We're not interested in selling it so I was thinking of having it polished and restored back to its original state. Have any of you ever had a piece of bronze polished before and how did you like the results? If I don't like it I suppose I can wait another 100 years to make it right again :-)
Leave it as it is IMHO
Looks nice the way it is.
Isn’t that a rather personal question?
I ask my girlfriend this question every single night.
Nah.
Just re-size it.
;-)
If you do, make sure you have your three wishes well planned out beforehand.
I had to look to see who posted this. I had it narrowed down to one person. LOL
My husband has a fairly large collection of Victorian art glass lamps, and he says you should never, never polish them. If you ever decide to sell it you will loose a good portion of it’s value if you do. That’s a natural patina and once you polish it, you’ll not get it back.
A curator at a museum dealing in relevant items might have good cleaning advice or warnings.
Turns out, most genies are Iraqi.
His English wasn't very good and when I wished for world peace, I got a pile of dirt with the explanation "this is piece of world you asked for."
Then, when I wished for the Houston Texans to go to the Super Bowl, he LAUGHED at me!
I didn't know genies were allowed to laugh at us.
I'm sure the Sail brothers knew that the bronze would oxidize and took that into account in their design. In my opinion, it would look foolish in the color of my doorknobs (faux bronze).
Agreed!! I’ve always heard to leave antiques pretty much alone. Unless you have an expert tell you otherwise.
Don’t touch it.
Antiques Roadshow’s Magic 8 Ball says “No, leave it alone.”
You should know better than to ask such a question on FR! LOLOLOLOL
Same thing with guns from the 19th Century, polishing destroys their value.
With certain antiques, the “patina” of the aged finish is valued. Leave it alone until you talk with someone familiar with this particular type of object.
I did the same thing! LMAO!
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