You are 100% correct: contemporary Georgian masters have improved immensely over the past 10-20 years.
And I am not talking about real superstars: Zaqro Nonikashvili, who makes full-length wootz saber blades, and Gotcha Lagidze who not only restores old weapons but makes truly authentic replicas.
Not surprising: the same story happened in India, when local Rajahs were encouraged to establish workshops replicating truly old weapons. Within the same time interval, they were producing masterpieces that (apparently) take a substantial ( allegedly) parts of the Wallace collection in London and al-Sabah collection in Kuwait as dated to the 16-17th centuries. One thing remained largely unconquered: Persian-style wootz blades.
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