Nazi swastika on lock mechanism in 1790s Welsh grandfather clock?

A 1790s Welsh longcase (grandfather) clock has been in our family for many years. It was purchased from a British family in Kenya in the 1950s. The clock is not a reproduction. It is definitely a late 18th century Welsh clock.

I was very surprised upon taking a look at the lock mechanism for the case (which houses the weights, etc for the chime) to find a Nazi swastika clearly engraved on the lock mechanism! WTF?

The lock mechanism also looks like it might say 'secure 4 levers' on it. I am guessing someone has replaced the lock mechanism at some point as I don't think it looks old enough to be original from the 1790s (unlike everything else on the clock). Since the clock was purchased in Kenya in the 1960s (and then moved to Australia where I am) I suppose it is possible that it passed through Germany in the 1930s-40s.

Does anyone know how this likely got on there? Did Germany make a lot of locks during the Nazi years (1930s-40s) and were swastika's engraved on all German made products similar to a 'Made in China'? Has anyone come across a similar lock? Or could this be an English lock and a Nazi has subsequently obtained the clock during the 30s-40s and specifically decided to engrave a swastika into the existing lock? Hopefully the former. It might be worth replacing the lock...

 

There are many articles for you to learn from on the internet. That symbol has been around far longer than its use by those bad guys. It also continues to be used by the cultures that used it previously, in the manner they intended.

You will find it on many antiques items, pre-nazi, as a symbol for good luck.

For starters, you can look here ...
https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2014/05/23/symbolism-the-swastika/comment-page-2/

 

1890 Tlingit basket............. no germans here.....



no germans here...only Americans..



only Navajo 1st Nations here...

 

" a Nazi swastika clearly engraved on the lock mechanism! WTF?"

Not so clear now , is it !!

 

I do understand that the swastika was used by many people around the world long before the Nazi party existed and it is unfortnate that this symbol has effectively been poisoned by that historical episode.

I wonder if anyone who is familiar with the lock mechanisms used in antique furniture could advise if this is common/likely (ie, whether the swastika was known to be used on locks used in cabinetry as a maker's mark, etc, not related to its Nazi use) or whether it was imprinted on mechanical products such as locks made in Nazi Germany during the 30s and 40s (in which case this would seem to be the more likely explanation).

 

in my opinion , if the clock was marked at any time with a German Nazi mark.....
it would look a hell of a lot more official......as they were pretty serious about it's look and placement..

 

That seems to be a good point, as usually the Nazi swastika was surrounded by a circle as far as I can tell.

 

Native American's referred to it as a whirling log I believe.....

 

Maybe you could have called it a swastika, and left Nazi out.
The Nazis called it 'Hakenkreuz', btw, not swastika, the latter is a Sanskrit word.

 

If the piece was made in 1790 or 1970 I couldn’t pretend to know. It does seem to look newer though. India made tons of brass components I believe. They (Hindus) also use that symbol. According to the little blurbs here they use it on entryways/doors which I guess this could be called. Just a thought. No idea if it’s a good one, but it’s a thought.

Also no clue if it has significance but the more vertical segment of the symbol on your piece is like two opposite L’s with the ends not being capped off with a line like on the other segment and on most of the symbols. Not sure if the way it’s composed has any meaning or if it was just applied haphazardly.

 

Maybe show us more of the clock & not only the marks in isolation. You will get better answers with the more info you provide.



The way the swastika is drawn is unusual & not very Nazi-like.