Is this kilij real?
It ended on E-Bay for ~$1250. Advertised as "antique... with possibly real silver crossguard"
I have a very uneasy feeling about it:
1. Wooden handle with no signs of usage and with reddish traces of wood stain in the incisions
2. The crossguard is extremely crude: I haven't seen real Ottoman or Iranian ones of such poor quality
3. My main concern is with the blade: it is pitted and patinated, but the "golden" inscriptions on top of all that crud are perfectly intact.
Overall, it looks to me like a very modern Syrian creation.
Am I being paranoid?
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