This antique Castle lock came from a Castle in Germany near Bensheim an der Bergstrasse according to the gentleman I bought it from many years ago. It is made of a heavy metal which I believe is a type of iron. It would have hung on the door of a Castle and is about 13" long and 7" acoss with one latch making it 10 1/2" across at widest part. There are moving parts which would have worked in conjunction with other mounted hardware on the door or jam. There are 2 keyholes seen on the backside but only one is accessible from the front. Expected wear to the black coloring of the metal as this piece could date back hundred's of years. Hopefully this will find a new home where it is hung again as a decorative piece fit for a King! Great conversation piece too. Please know that I am not certain the metal type but I do believe it is very old and probably hand forged. It appears that to open this, you would have inserted a key and then executed a variety of steps to complete the unlocking or locking....push one lever, lift another, etc. So Cool!!!