The highly developed sense of craftsmanship evident in the present lock is typical of German metalworkers in the 16th and 17th centuries. Fine engraving of steel lockcases was particularly admired, and the craftsman's pride in his trade was such that even the interior components of this lock, which were never meant to be visible, are as finely wrought and engraved as the exterior elements. For German steel locks with similar decoration see Madrid, Luis Elvira Anticuario, Exposicion de hierros antiguos - catalogo, M.J.R. Aragonés ed., 1989, nos. 84, 85 and 88.
It is possible that the present lock entered the collection at Nostell Priory via Sabine Louise d'Hervert, who married Sir Rowland Winn, the 5th Baronet (1739-1785). Lady Winn was sole heiress to her father's collection, and as Governor of Vevey in Switzerland, Baron d'Hervert could easily have acquired such a piece.