South Tyrol "crossbow" Lock XVII Century

Fascinating South Tyrol  "crossbow" lock consisting of the supporting plate, the fork push spring, the latch with decorative carvings on the stem and curl for manual push from the inside. The latch features double teeth which determine the double throw. The leaf-shaped fixing bracket, the square-shaped tool cover shield with beveled edges and the leaf-spring side bracket complete the lock. On the rear side, another spring activated by a tooth on the key which rotates on the central pin, unlocks the latch and allows it to slide. From the inside, to unlock the latch, operate manually on the end of the spring, with one hand, while sliding the latch itself with the other. The key is female, with the section near the head shaped like a full "bean", the comb has two ranks with vertical fernettes, (one per rank) which however no longer find the deceptions within the ingenuity, which have been lost over time. Above the comb there is the pawl which acts on the external spring which unlocks the latch. Traces of copper and brass brazing tell of ancient repairs. The unorthodox shape of the key head may have been applied to the body of the original key following ancient breakage. Nice brown patina.