Beautiful!!...Yeah I have done the soda and vinegar trick on brass. It doesn't polish but does remove most of the black gook!....unless they have a lot of old wax on them. Then the easiest thing to do is boil them.
Beautiful candlesticks.....!!!!! But they look like perhaps they are bronze and perhaps intentionally patinated? Are they signed on the bottom?

They are signed pairpoint on the bottom. There was also a partial sticker that said lacquered. Linda, this wasn't patina on them. It was a black gunk and you could not see th real finish. They were just awful.

Well...I can't think of any brass signed Pairpoint I have seen....it's mostly silver, bronze or glass....or a combo.
They really really are fabulous!! They personify Arts and Crafts....

Thanks! That's me arts and cafts!

You seem to have really good taste, J&J. ALways picking up the nice stuff you are! :)

Thanks! I have been trying to be selective as a get older. I don't have that msuch space. Sometimes if I bring something in, something has to go, so we either sell at a fleamarket or on craigslist.

The decoration suggests there were for candles in a church.

The 'lacqured' sticker indicates that originally, the finish was protected by a coat of laquer. If the lacquer coat is gone, after cleaning, brass and bronze can be kept nice looking by applying automotive wax. Do not use a cleaner wax; it contains abrasives. The wax will polish up nicely, and it can be removed with warm water and detergent and re-waxed.

They look bronze to me, they are a little pinkish. I agree they look like religious pieces.