A RARE CHINESE THREE-COLOUR BRASS PADLOCK

SIX CHARACTER WANLI MARK AND OF THE PERIOD 1573-1620

Constructed in two parts, the rectangular body decorated with roundels of flowerhead designs separated by linear apertures, together with a functioning hinged lock pin or key, its handle formed with concentric circular, square and hexagonal bands and reticulated panels, the padlock 20.5cm when closed. (3)

Cf. Chinese Furniture, Selected Articles from Orientations 1984-2003, 'Proportion and Joinery in Four-Part Wardrobes', p.38, for a similar lock dated to the Wanli period. See also Selected Treasures of the Shaanxi History Museum, Gold and Silver, p.139, pl.155 for a Tang dynasty example.

Provenance: property of a Lady of title, Kent, UK. Acquired in Beijing in the 1960s.