This box would have provided a useful and decorative storage place in a formal bedroom. Its shape and size copy Japanese lacquered boxes that were being imported into Europe at this time.

Scholars believe that it was probably made in the workshop of André-Charles Boulle, a craftsman known for his elaborate marquetry designs in exotic wood or tortoiseshell and brass. The flowers and birds that decorate the surface of this chest are similar to those that appear on other works by Boulle in the Getty Museum's collection.