I polish my antique brass candle sticks....but I suppose some do not.
If I were trying to sell...I guess I wouldn't polish them.
Linda C

Please don't polish them. Some people would buy them BECAUSE of the patina. If the new owner wants them shiny and bright, they can polish them.

The new issue of Martha Stewart Living has a story about her brass collection. She got all her stuff buffed.

Brass and solid silver look better polished and IMO it inhances the value of both.

I like my antiques clean....and tarnish is dirt, not patina.
But to sell the candlesticks, I would not polish them just in case there is someone out there who likes tarnish....but give it a year and it will reappear!
Linda c

Tarnish is not dirt. Tarnish is synonymous with natural patina when referring to brass, copper, gold, silver, bronze. It's the result of oxidation. It is the equivalent to those metals as rust is to iron. I'm not familiar with candle holders but I do know many true antiques are more valuable with the results of aging than if they are cleaned up. If you are not interested in selling them and want to enjoy their beauty, clean them up and enjoy them. If you prefer to sell them, dust them off and leave them as they are. Let the new owner do with them what they wish. Some people like the shape of things like that, others the look from the effects of aging others only because of their age. What you do or don't do to them will appeal to different people in different ways. One might say they will buy them because they see the potential for what they will look like shined up. Others will appreciate the aged look and so on. Leaving them as is will appeal to a broader range of people in my opinion.

Tarnish is not "synonymous with natural patina referring to brass, copper gold, silver and bronze...."
Tarnish on silver should not be left....what's more it should not be allowed to form.
Patina is a change in the surface of bronze, either naturally or by artificial means, it can also serve as a protection from the elements, and is not always formed by the process of oxidation.
another meaning of patina is a thin coating and still a third meaning is a superficial covering or exterior.
The dull and brownish look of an unpolished brass candle stick will return in a few months....unlike the carefully applied patina on a bronze sculpture and the soft glow of old furniture, polished and cleaned but not sanded to the bare wood.
However if I were selling a brass candlestick that is just tarnished and not black, I would leave it. Perhaps the new owner would like to do a less vigorous cleaning than you might.
I won't buy silver that has been dipped.
Linda C

Would be interesting to ask a silversmith how he would like to see his candlesticks sold ~ shiny or with a patina or tarnish! I shine, shine, shine...but then again, what I have isn't rare antiques.

A silversmith would like his candlestick sold as it was when he finished it. If it was all over shiny, then like that, it he had rubbed "liver of sulfur" into some details to make them stand out, then like that.
I have 150 year old silver pieces and candlesticks that are at least that old....and I shine them up!!
Linda C

Thank you for the Wikipedia explanation of tarnish. However in the common vernacular such as all facial tissue being called Kleenex, my offering stands. Natural patina is way, way, way different than manually applied patina and the difference as well as the effect is very easily identified. Not so much by an armchair antique assesor though. The natural change of surface that you describe is directly associated with environment and could not take place without oxygen, thus oxidation. Each time you remove this natural oxidation, you essentially remove a portion of that base metal. This is especially detrimental when dealing with gold and silver. If you allow, silver as an example, to oxidize and then clean it, it will wear even if you've never used it to eat with.

so....
Are you saying that silver, if tarnished, should never be polished?
And that the verdigris, naturally occurring on a bronze sculpture and an applied patina, such as has been applied by Rodin to his bronzes is more desirable than Rodin's applied patination?
Just asking.

Ok, it's obvious you might be re-categorizing my offering of information to mean something else entirely, generating a combative atmosphere. I don't wish to participate. The op now has enough varied information to do their research and make a decision which is what it is all about.

Yeah....but in every museum I have visited displaying antique furnishing and household items....museums like the Philadelphia Art Museum and the Chicago Art Institute, display their Chippendale and Hepplewhite pieces with polished brasses, and the candlesticks and lanterns and fireplace fenders and Paul Revere coffeepot and the Hester Bateman bowl are all bright and shiny.
have you ever visited Colonial Williamsburg? Or Monticello? Or Mt. Vernon? No tarnished silver nor brass displayed in those places.
But by a similar criterion there is still a cannon ball in the wall at Nassau Hall.

Now we know how many cannon balls it takes to fill Nassau Hall...

But seriously; LINDAC92—I respect your POV.

And; YES! I have "visited" all those places. I'm also a graduate of The Art Institutes.

I have seen some ancient Asian metalwork in the Smithsonian and even the other museums you cited, which still have much of their natural "patina" (define this as you will).

My reference to museum curators was given as support of my point. (Which, being); that IF a metal worked piece is deemed to be a valuable original creation of someone such as PAUL REVERE, then the undertaking of any restoration is best left to experts.

MANY fine items of significance are ruined every day by well-meaning individuals who attempt restoration but end up applying inappropriate or even harmful methods because they are simply ignorant of what they have in hand.
Ultimately, when it comes to antique and/or vintage items of significance, I still maintain, that unless one is cognizant of any given piece's providence, and its real potential market or historic value, that any such undertakings are best left to qualified individuals.

THE BOTTOM LINE:
Admittedly, the majority of inquires on this forum are in regard to items of much less significance. Still, if an owner of an individual piece plans to keep it for their own personal enjoyment, they should clean it as they wish.

BUT, if they plan to sell it to the collector market, it's ALWAYS best to leave it "as is".

..And the difference is knowing the difference between "patina" and tarnish/dirt.
And the OP didn't ask about an ancient roman coin, but a pair of vintage brass candlesticks. Polish them up!
However, either on this forum or another I frequent, someone posted picture of a "brass" piece she had found in a thrift shop, polished up adn wondered what it was. Turned out it was a signed artist's bronze piece and she had removed the applied patination.
So of course....know what you have before polishing, but also realize there is a difference in "vintage" "antique" and "ancient".
Are you saying I should not polish my 18th century Scottish stuffing spoon because some day I might want to sell it?

Tarnish is NOT dirt ..good grief ..any high school chemistry student can tell you ..it's oxidation.

Ever drink out of a silver cup that is black with tarnish? What did you taste?
Tarnish is dirt in the same way that plant out of place in a garden is considered a weed.
Shouldn't be there....remove it.

Copper and Bronze and Brass Pieces Naturally Darken and Change Color with Age and Oxidation. The Metal Surface Develops a Rich Deep Coloration, or Beautiful Patina. To the novice, these dark colors, silvery blue green hues and marks may look unpleasant, but to serious collectors - these color changes are considered quite desirable.

Please Do Not Clean or Polish Metal Items

You may be tempted to clean or polish metal items so they shine - but just leave them alone.

Polishing or cleaning old metal pieces so they shine LOWERS their value considerably.

Photograph these pieces as you find them, and list them on eBay in their original state.

A KNOWLEDGEABLE SELLER IS A SMART SELLER

Of course, with all things the mantra is do no harm and generally restoration like cleaning or refinishing destroys the value of antiques.

But to unilaterally state vintage metal shouldn't be polished is absurd. I inherited old silver and the only reason it ever had a patina was because the footmen "aka whoever owned at that time" didn't have the time or energy to polish.

My vintage brass bed circa 1900 (currently not used) was intended to be polished and when I actually used it - I would make sporadic attempts to keep it polished.

Whether the specific candlesticks are intended to be polished is a different matter - what is vintage? I mean that seriously - just because something isn't new doesn't mean it's a valuable antique - it could have been from the 1970's - in which case it was either meant to be polished or was purchased with a fake patina to look aged - this is just an example as your grandmother's stuff isn't necessarily antique :-)

Formal Brass candlesticks of the 18th Century are meant to be shined up to reflect the candle and fire light of formal homes in the 1700s. If you go into the finest museums - in formal rooms they are always shined- Now in more country settings with more primitive sticks- I would expect patination as these items were more utilitarian -not objects of art and beauty to reflect the light of their surroundings ....

I have a lovely pair of small brass antique church candlesticks which have never been allowed to be dulled by oxidation, so when needed, I polish them. I also have a large 19thc. model of a cannon, which has a bronze barrel with the metal oxidised; and in this case I leave well alone. You WILL affect the value if you try to make the metal sparkle and shine. Also don't get me started on those people who who tart-up old cast iron objects with black gloss paint.