Mongolian Stirrups?
 

I just picked up this pair of what I believe to be Mongolian stirrups; I've seen other pairs and even though the examples generally look similar, the carvings of each dragon seem to vary in skill and detail. I was wondering how old is this pair.
Also, there is a lot of silver inlay that I'm dying to clean, but that would be wrong, correct, as it would remove some of the patina?

Okay, since no one on the forum stopped me, I went against every episode of the "Antique Roadshow," and I polished out the inlay; right or wrong, I'm pretty happy with the results.
Another bonus surprise was that upon close inspection, each dragon head had a free-floating steel ball in it's mouth.

I think you did a great job on the cleaning. You never know what you might find under that dirt and surface patina.

I own a long musket barrel that I bought very cheap. There was no real surface rust. Just a complete coating of dust/dirt from sitting around for many decades. After a simple oil cleaning, what a surprise. The top of the barrel from breech to muzzle was covered in silver, and the bottom of the barrel was signed by the Italian maker dating to the late 17th Century.

Again, I think the stirrups look great.

Rick

Thanks Rick, I'd love to see a posting of that musket!

I like it, but anyway, with silver, you don't usually have to wait too long for it to tarnish again!
Regards
Richard

Thanks, Richard, it was more grime dirt and nicotine than tarnish. The next polish(when needed), should be a lot easier.