Philip is correct, I am glad to say.
When the kroftgari was done, it was mostly filed down to a flat surface. One theory could be, that it whould not show the cross hatches, likely imitating inlay. However, there are too many old examples that the koftgari gold work was very thick, to say that all thick koftgari gold work it was painted, as it may be to day - although I have not yet seen any hilts with painted koftgari.
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