HELP PLEASE

[jihunter]

Never seen anything like this. Lock, clasp, jewelry? Asian? Stone appears to be jade i think. I haven't seen it in person yet but picked it at an estate sale for $5. Usually when i see anything I have never seen before that looks old I buy it. Auction contained several other antiques and historical document so the [previous owner was into this sort of thing. Looks like it might be bronze certainly looks hand made from pics. Once I have it I will post more info
Thanks

 

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[Goodyguy]

It's an antique Chinese Pipa padlock.

GG~

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Looks like the tuning head off a stringed instrument? But I do see it listed as a "Pipa Padlock"

 

[Red-Coat]

It is an oriental padlock (the projecting thing with a face on it is the key). These things were produced in figural forms and commonly in the form of (non-functional) musical instruments. That’s what a ‘pipa’ is. A four-stringed plucked instrument sometimes known as the Chinese lute… hence the term ‘pipa lock’.

There’s a similar, but smaller, Chinese instrument known as a ‘liuqin’ and several other related oriental instruments such as the Japanese ‘biwa’, the Korean ‘bipa’ and the the Vietnamese ‘đàn tỳ bà’. As far as locks are concerned, there are antique ones, vintage ones relating to the Korean War and early Viet-Nam War eras, plus lots of modern copies kicking around. They all tend to be generically termed ‘pipa’ locks, whether pipa or liuqin and whether Chinese or other oriental origin.

Closer examination may reveal some markings that narrow it down and perhaps approximate how old it really is. It looks authentic and antique from where I sit, but pictures don’t always tell the full story.