Mahratt,
Thank you .
1. Yes, you totally misunderstood Ian's remark. Few of us are known to be fluent in multiple languages, so don't worry
2. If you can provide expert testimony of an equally-qualified individual who had an opportunity to examine these daggers personally, I will consider it very seriously. In the absence of such an examination and expertise in the history of paper products, I hesitate to take the opinion of your colleague as a professional evidence.
3.See #2
4. Please read the very first sentence of Jim's last comment.
I would also like to remind you that each and every "choora" was hand made, and there were rather significant variations in the details of each and every component: blade, handle and scabbard.
As an example, please look at the 2 "chooras" that I brought to this discussion. The bigger one has a blade that is identical to your example, but a different handle, the smaller one has a blade that is virtually identical to the Egerton's example, but a handle different from the other 3. Hope you finally agree with the images. This also gives an answer to your query in post #91:
"Does anyone of you knowledge of chooras in museum collections, which became a museum exhibit before 1900?" The answer is resounding Yes, South Kensington Exhibition of the India Museum, starting at 1880.
In a way, this entire discussion with expert testimonies, details of paper technology etc, etc. was superfluous: suffice was to consult Egerton's book and the answer was clear: " chooras" existed as far back as mid-19th century. End of story.
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