Museum Updates
Gilded silver wardrobe lock with diamond motifs from Tang Dynasty
Updated: Aug 25, 2026
China Bound
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What did a Tang Dynasty (618-907) wardrobe lock look like? Among 23 silver locks unearthed from the Hejiacun hoard in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, 17 are gilded silver locks with diamond-shaped motifs like this. Made up of a hollow octagonal lock body, an ingenious lock cylinder, and a key, the lock can open and close through the natural elasticity of metal.
Sturdy and precise, these locks survived more than a thousand years without breaking or deforming. Now they are in the collection of the Shaanxi History Museum.
