Tentative match on antique candlesticks. How do I care for them?

Estate sale find. Two questions: are they actually a match? And how do I take care of them? They sure don't look like they've been polished with Brasso.

The pair are brass, about 9 1/2 inches tall; and they weigh about five pounds. They are jaw-dropping beautiful and nobody else wanted them, which shocks me. The stems unscrew smoothly. The screws taper and have irregular threads.







They resemble this pair I found online, identified as early 19thC Russian? Shabbat candlesticks. http://www.russiansamovars.com/product_detail.php?ID=1198:

 

Sorry, I meant: do they match the pair I found online?

 

@petrichor, to answer your question, are they IDENTICAL....to me....NOT EXACTLY, BUT I think it might be HARD to find a CLOSER pair to YOURS....but others will correct me if I'm wrong....Good HUNTING!!!! (YOURS on the LEFT!!) As to care......are your brass or silver? You didn't post any marks or maybe there weren't any....Hard to tell from your image......hopefully others will check in.....

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They're brass, no marks. Sorry!

 

It's interesting to me that one in your pair seems to have more wear than the other - the ridges are less defined in some areas between the two. Can't imagine how that even happens. Unless it's just the lighting.

Nice candlesticks btw!

 

The OP's look like they've seen more use than the ones on the Web. Pretty awesome score, if they're Russian Jewish. That stuff just didn't survive, between the Czars and the Nazis.

 

@petrichor
I think they must be gold. Are you sure about weighing 5lb?

I have a couple of brass candlesticks that are Russian or Polish from the 18th Century, probably later than yours, and they each weight 1lb 4oz.

 

Agreed -- if. I don't know that they are either Russian or Jewish. I assume they were consigned by uninterested heirs (though how that is possible is beyond me.) When I asked the seller, I got the blank face and the "confidential" brushoff. Back to the stacks, I guess.

 

According to my bathroom scale (which is not designed for this), they weigh 2.7 lb apiece. But I wouldn't get too excited; they're also tarnished in a couple places, and the tarnish is green. (See my first post, second photo, the one of their tops.)

Which brings me back to Q2: any advice on caring for these? I apologize for such a basic question, but there's a zillion articles online, all saying different things; and the books I've found so far are about candlestick construction and history, not about living with them.

 

Wipe them carefully with a damp microfibre cloth, then give them a good rub over with a soft old towel. No brasso! No polish!

sunshine cloth if you must.

 

That sounds perfect. Thank you!