Expert: Martin G Roberts - 6/27/2004

Question
i love brass! how do you know if your candlesticks are old and how valuable? also, i have alot of brass "trinkets" they all say INDIA on them and are beautifully ethced can you tell me their value cant send pictures any advice at all would help                                                                     thank you  

Answer
Assessing authenticity of brass candlesticks can be very difficult - many experienced dealers make mistakes, so it is not possible to explain how to spot repros and fakes here. Nor are there are good reference works that help. In general, look for usage wear, and look for evidence underneath bases that some effort has been made to clean up, either by turning the metal off, or by chiselling.

Bear in mind that several repro makers produced vast quantities of brass objects, including candlesticks, in the first half of the 20th century. I would say perhaps 60% of all the brass 'antiques' I see in the UK are reproductions, and most are unmarked, either because they were never marked, or because the marks have been deliberately polished away.

Your Indian objects are not old, and of negligible value.