Metal cat figurine from Ming dynasty

It is a metal figurine about three inches tall.
It sits on a flat base, which has raised Chinese characters and according to the internet, says "Made during the rule of Emperor Xuan'de of the Great Ming dynasty".
I'm not sure what kind of metal it is made out of.
It is black, but I'm not sure if that's from age or the original decoration.
There are parts of it where you can see a bronze or gold color coming through but I'm afraid to use any cleaner on it since I don't want to ruin it.
It's entire body has tiny lines on it as if it was carved or etched into shape. The details, eyes, nose, whiskers, etc; are also etched.
The base appears to be bolted on.