I was watching the auction of this very piece with some interest, alas I was not able to bid due to the famous "cash flow" problem. It is a nice piece, and I think went for a fair bit less than it could have, so congratulations!
One possibility for the braze is that it was cut for ease of shipping, and reassembled on arrival. The diagonal cut provides a larger area for the braze, therefore stronger, and indicates some forethought.
Re cleaning, fine wire wool with a light oil is what I would use, and as said not overclean. You can always take it a stage further sometime down the line, but it is impossible to take it a stage back.
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