Unusual silver lock decorated on one side with a Boy holding a Lotus leaf and a Peach symbolizing that descendants may become old in harmony. The other side of the lock shows the ‘Eight Trigrams’ or ‘Pa Kua’ each consisting of three lines either ‘broken’ or ‘unbroken’ which were used in Taoist cosmology. Each trigram has a meaning for instance Heaven (天 Tiân), Lake (澤(泽 Zé), Fire (火 Huǒ), Thunder (雷 Léi), Wind (風(风 Fēng), Water (水 Shuǐ), Mountain (山 Shān) and Earth (地 Dì). Inside the Pa Kua is a Yin Yang symbol consisting of two fish-like creatures. Yin and Yang represent opposite forces which are actually complementary. The lock dates from the late Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1912). Width 2.8 cm. Height 5.8 cm. Depth 1.5 cm. Weight 26.5 grams.