Silver lock and chain. The lock is decorated on one side with two Bottle gourds which are an important auspicious symbol with many meanings. It is a natural symbol of Fertility because of its many seeds believed to bring hundreds of sons (hulu baizi). The word Bottle gourd (hulu) has the same pronunciation as Blessings (fu) and Official salary (lu). And its enormous network of vines and tendrils (mandai) suggests Continuity and leads to the pun for ‘Ten thousand generations’ (wandai). On the other side of the lock are the Chinese characters Jiu Ru (九如) which mean ‘Blessings and everything one wishes for’. The sides of the lock are formed by a couple of somewhat peculiar looking Dragons which symbolize Fertility. Or did the artisan mean to depict ‘Dragon fishes’ which are mythical creatures with a dragon’s head and a fish tail. In fact these were thought to be fish which transformed into dragons after passing the ‘Dragon’s gate’ and they symbolize a wish to be successful during the Civil Service Examinations and achieve a ‘High status’. Two flat bell-shaped plaques are attached to the lock. They are engraved with the Chinese characters ‘Bai Shui’ (‘百岁) which means ‘A hundred years’ and ‘Chang Ming’ (长命) which wishes for ‘Long life’. The back sides of these ‘bells’ are engraved with Immortals. The lock is hallmarked with the name Ju Tai (鉅泰) and another two small characters which read Da Lin (大林). It dates from the late Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1912). Total length 36 cm. Lock: Width 4.0 cm. Height 3.3 cm. Depth 1.4 cm. Weight 45.2 grams