Imagine a bank vault that handcuffed every John Dillinger who walked in through the door. Nothing like that quite exists, but this Russian strongbox, circa 1815, comes pretty close.

The antique dealer Carlton Hobbs LLC has acquired a nineteenth-century steel safe with a complicated lock system, capable of firing two pistols at an unsuspecting intruder. On first inspection, the safe looks more like a metal treasure chest than a gun-wielding killer. But when properly locked, the box's lid can be lifted 20 degrees before two springs set off the loaded pistols, which happen to be strategically located within the sides of the safe. This means that the safe will get at even a cautious, slow-moving thief.

According to Dana Donadio, senior decorative arts researcher at the gallery, "Of the strongboxes produced during this time, this one is by far the most complex." Once you get past the first two locks and safely open the lid, two smaller safes lie beneath. Surprise! The hard part isn't over yet. The smaller upper and lower safes must be correctly unlocked before reaching the final contents inside, that is, if you can locate their hidden keyholes.

The upper safe is a small raised box with a keyhole hidden on its top. Its lock is an astonishing 12-bolt system that must be opened before moving on to the last challenge, the lower safe. Unlike the one before it, this lower safe has a keyhole located behind the central rib toward the front of the box. A button on the brim of the safe releases a spring that reveals the last keyhole to be unlocked. This last locking mechanism has an even more remarkable 16 bolts.

While the box is believed to have come from workshops in Tula, a city just south of Moscow, the secrets it kept are unknown. It was most likely commissioned for imperial purposes; however, traces of an imperial monogram have yet to be found.

Of course, differentiating what is and is not a true antique is the toughest part. Even antiques with official monograms and seals can be fakes. In today's market, it's becoming increasingly difficult to tell the difference between an authentic porcelain vase from the Qing Dynasty and a replica that can be purchased online.

But this strongbox's design is characteristic of other steel objects produced by Tula workshops; the technology behind the pistols was invented around the same time as the safe, and Russia was experiencing a time of peace after the Napoleonic wars ended in 1815, allowing Tula craftsmen to build luxury pieces instead of straight weapons. Based on these facts, Carlton Hobbs has reason to believe that the safe was indeed created by Tula factories around 1815. And even if it wasn't, its steampunk stylings make it a cool invention for just about any age. —Linda Yin