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I bought this small bronze incense burner few years ago because I found it was very good looking. it looks authentic but I am not a specialist. The bronze surface shows patina but also dirt. It seems to be gold leaf decorated.

-is it possible to date it? Ming? Qing Dynasty?

-how can I "clean" the dirt without damaging its patina?

Thank you for your help.

Regards,

Your bronze is likely to be 18th Century but is notoriously difficult to date without inspection. Some very good fakes are now coming out of China. The surface dirt can be washed off. The green encrustation is verdigris and I would suggest you scrape this with a piece of hard plastic. You will not be able to remove it all as it goes below the surface. To enhance the censer I would then apply a light coating of wax polish.

Thank you very much for the advice, I'll try that.

Regards,

Pipane

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