I am currently working with a collection of Mesoamerican pottery, in
varying states of preservation.  The collection has been stored for many
years dirty (in one case an entire 14cm tall figurine emerged from a
clump of dried mud).  They are not extremely fragile, but many have
faint and/or flaking (post-firing) paint or evidince of slips used, which
is fragile.  Is it normally the case that long-stored away from the
environment items are harder to clean?  It seems so in this case.
 
The problem is getting them efficiently clean in the safest way
possible, so that they can be properly stabilized.  If anyone would be
willing to share tidbits of tricks and expertise, I would be grateful.
 
Thanks!
Krista Lewis
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SMSU Center for Archaeological Research