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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;2manybooks, post: 4445869, member: 8267&quot;]Looking at the surface with the stamp (the 4th photo), it looks like there might be a colored lacquer coating of some sort. There appear to be scratches in the yellowish area that reveal the silver colored metal underneath. If there is a coating, or other sort of surface patination, this would complicate any effort to clean or polish the piece.</p><p><br /></p><p>From Oppi Untracht:</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;An old process which was in use in Pre-Hispanic Mexico, but recently revived, is the process of making objects from a combination of separate pieces of silver, copper, brass, and a nickel alloy which are soldered together. The name <i>metales casados</i> or &quot;married metals&quot; was given to this technique by the revivers of this kind of work, Los Castillo, a family of silversmiths who work in Taxco, Mexico.</p><p>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; In this work, the metal is <i>not</i> a laminate as in mokume; rather, the various metals are joined in butt joints, next to each other, by their edges. This means that the pieces in the design must be very carefully cut out and matched so that they fit together exactly like a jigsaw puzzle to make a total, continuous surface, and the solder joining the parts is almost invisible......</p><p>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; The surface can be polished in the same way as any other metals, but a high luster produces a surface which is too light-reflective to allow the difference in the colors of the metals to be seen. A finish created by a wire brush buff revolving at a slow speed is therefore recommended. The matte surface so produced better displays the color differences.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>Oppi Untracht: <u>Metal Techniques for Craftsmen: A Basic Manual for Craftsmen on the Methods of Forming and Decorating Metals.</u> Doubleday &amp; Co, 1968. pgs184-186</p><p><br /></p><p>He does not mention any lacquers or patination in the finish, but I wonder if it might have been a possible time-saving innovation introduced later in the history of the technique.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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