Lock for Chest

Physical Description:

A large rectangular metal bar lock, similar to a u-bar lock fitted with a long key, meant to use as a lock for a chest.

This bucket-shaped iron lock was made for a chest with a downward opening door (bandaji ). In contrast to conventional locks shaped like the Korean letter “ㄷ,” which are designed to have the key inserted at the right-hand end, this one has an unusual structure that requires insertion of the key at the front near the right end of the lock. The key was made by bending one end of a stick; two tips protruding upward were then soldered to the stick near its bend.

[Korean Collection, University of Michigan Museum of Art (2017), 245]

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