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Originally Posted by Jens Nordlunde
Hi Marius,
Speedy recovery:-).
I am no specialist on crystal and jade daggers, so I will not try to guess how old the dagger is, but I have some doubt that it is very old.
A few things worries me, like the ears of the horse, they are very intact, and why would someone remove the green stones and replace them with green glass, and not at the same time remove the rubies, and replace red glass in stead?
I find the way the stones are added somewhat unusual for a high quality Indian dager, why are they not inlaid in the crystal - like they usually are?
Marius, when you are fit again, contact a jeweller, and ask him to measure the hilt and the stones for hardness, as he will be able to tell you if the hilt is rock crystal, if the green 'stones' are glass and if the rubies really are rubies.
There are, no doubt, daggers made a century or more ago, put in an armoury, and never or very seldom used. These daggers will be intact/very close to intact, but I can not judge this from photos.
The chiselling on the blade seems to be very bussy to me, and why did both of us expect the covering metal to be brass?
Sorry I could not be of more help
Jens
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Thank you Jens! That's way more than I have expected.
Regarding the green glass, I believe emeralds were much rarer than rubies and that's why we often see Indian blades adorned with a mixture of gems and glass.
As soon as I will get out of the hospital and be fit enough will have the dagger checked. However, considering the light diffraction through the hilt, I am pretty sure it is rock crystal.