Cleaning a roman umbonate brooch?

[rossi007]

Hi all. I found this umbonate brooch yesterday whilst out detecting with a local and was wondering how people would go about trying to clean it up a bit. Obviously there's some enamel panels that I don't want to damage but there is a fair bit of hard soil stuck to it in places. So, what are people's views as to how I should proceed or would it be recommended to leave as is? It would be nice to be able to see the colours a little better. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you

[Easylife]

Just a dry brush.

[Allectus]

Needs a wash, there's still dirt on it!

[Dave The Slave]

Lovely brooch, with all the enamel still intact.
You`ll find the colours are most vibrant when damp and will fade back when dry.
Given an Umbonate as a present, by the finder couple of weeks ago. Did the light brush and also some damp clean but hardly any dirt left to remove.
Cheers,
Dave.

[alloverover]

Get the dirt out of the cells with a cocktail stick or similar .

[Jml1985]

Let it soak in distilled water for 24 hours and then a soft brush to remove the dirt. Once fully dry, a coat of 5% or 10% Arteseal will bring out the detail and colours.

[Carl 82]

That's a beauty

[Oxgirl]

Be careful it can be very dangerous to soak an enamelled one in water - it can be ok but it can just as easily cause irreversible damage. Trust me I found out the hard way

As suggested it’s best to keep it as dry as possible with a gentle brush or, preferably, a slow removal of the dirt with a cocktail stick.

[rossi007]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, I think once I get it back from the FLO I'll just give it a dry brush and see how that works........thanks folks

[Wheel]

Ooo that’s a lovely example. I got one on Boxing Day that is really toasted with just one bit of enamel left.
I would be really gentle and just use distilled water and wooden toothpick. Better safe than sorry.
Thanks for sharing