Silver lock decorated on one side with the Goddess of Mercy, Guanyin, also known as the ‘Giver of children’ and on the other side with the expression ‘Chang Ming Fu Gui’ (Long life and Prosperity). Guanyin holds a bottle in her hand from which a branch seems to emanate instead of the usual ‘Pure water’. Is it a willow branch normally associated with Guanyin or is it a Plum branch? The last one seems plausible because there is also a depiction of a Pine tree and Bamboo which form, together with the Plum tree, the Three Friends of Winter known as Longevity symbols. The ribbons (shoudai) in Guanyin’s hand also symbolize Longevity (shou) as do the bats on both sides. The only Longevity symbol which seems to be missing is the Lingzhi fungus or is there one in the bat’s mouth? In that case there is another hidden message on this lock because Pine tree (song), Bamboo (zhu), Rock (shoushi) and Lingzhi lead to the pun ‘May the old pine offer you Longevity’ (songling gongshou). The bottom of the lock shows one of the Eight Treasures, double coins (Babao) in openwork which also represent Wealth. The lock is marked Tian ju (天聚) who may have been the silversmith or retailer. It dates from the late Qing (1644 – 1912) to the early Republic period (1912 – 1947). Width 7.7 cm. Height 5.6 cm. Depth 1.0 cm.