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Subject:Re: Lopburi style Buddha
Posted By: pierrevdw Wed, Oct 08, 2014
Hi Mike,
For bronze, always remember this:
- The natural corrosion always starts by the presence of cuprite: an ox blood color/dark red crystal substance.
- On the cuprite will grow the second form of corrosion: Malachite, a greenish crystal substance.
Please note that Malachite cannot grow on its own, it needs cuprite to develop.
- And finally you might find the third form on corrosion: Azurite, a blueish crystal.This one needs malachite to grow.
If you don't see any cuprite under malachite, you can be sure the corrosion is not natural.
As cuprite cannot be made from any acid treatment, more than often fake makers are unable to reproduce this process and sometime use dark red paint to lure people.
So, look for cuprite when you buy old bronze. If none, you know it is not natural corosion you see.
There are plenty of acid treated bronze around. If you folow this little advice, you will save a lot of Thai Bath.
In this case, from photos, I don't see what I'm looking for (cuprite) but it seems that the piece was treated with chemicals.
To be sure, just scratch the green areas and see if it is red underneath.
Cheers.
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