Hi,
I just picked up a 1000BC Italian bronze sword. Since it doesn't rust, is there anything to worry about, if I display it out in the open. I can use Ren. Wax but but since it has a slight brown-green patina I don't know if its necessary?

Thanks for any help.

In a museum they are often protected by a coat of acrylic resin (I am not quite sure if my translation is correct).
Hoy about a picture of the sword? I am surely not the only one interested in seeing it. :)

I don't really want to put an acrylic resin on it, unless absolutly necessary, because the resin is so permanent and if I try to take it off later, I'm not sure what would happen.

If I do need to, is there a certain kind? I'm sure it not the same that I'd pick up at the hardware store, or is it?

Being bronze, does it even need a protective coat and if so what about the Ren. Wax.

I haven't recieved the sword it, it should be another week or two. Once I do, I'll post some pictures.

Thanks again

If you don't want to polish it first then Renaissance Wax will do fine. If you want to polish it first before treating it then perhaps Vitamin E oil might be a better coating.

Polishing it will remove the protective patina so it will need coating with something afterwards - unless you want to regularly polish it. Bronze corrodes but a lot more slowly than iron so it should have some sort of protective coating. Is it a 3000 year old antique or is it a replica? If it is an antique then I definitely wouldn't polish it. Just coat it with Renaissance Wax and leave it alone.

NEVER polish an original. Apart from the collectors value it most certainly destroys any archaeological value the piece might still have.

My suggestion is to leave it as is. As long as it is kept in your house and not outside or in a damp basement or garage you will have no problems. The patina is valuable and should not be disturbed. The only issue with the deterioration of bronze is "bronze disease" which can eat away the metal and leave a toxic residue in its place. I wouldn't worry too much about that, I've only seen one case in the years I've been collecting and I'm not sure what chemical reaction caused it. So as long as you do nothing out of the ordinary you should be fine.

Don

Thanks for all the responses. I wasn't really planning on polishing it; I just wanted to understand what Dan was saying.

I'll check the links posted and see what they have to say. I like the idea of letting it sit and not doing anything, letting the patina take care of it. But since I'm only the temporary owner, the sword as been around for 3000 years and hopefully will continue long after I'm gone, I want to do my part to take care of it. So I'll do some research.

Again, thanks for your input.