July 2026
Gilt bronze or brass: how to tell them apart
Weight, chasing and wear on the high points: three markers that give away a later mount.
Bronze is heavy, dense and cold to the touch. A period handle has real weight in the hand; a stamped brass part, very common after 1900, feels light and sounds hollow.
Chasing comes next. On an old bronze the motif was reworked with tools after casting: the recesses are crisp, the details uneven, and the back often shows file marks and a fitting number.
Finally the gilding. Mercury gilding wears where hands pass, revealing a reddish metal in soft patches. A modern gold varnish flakes off in sharp plates instead.