17th Century Kast (wardrobe or cupboard) 19820.57 Cleveland Museum of Art, wikimedia commons
"After the founding of the Dutch East India Company in 1602, the use of exotic, imported wood veneers in furniture became more prevalent. So too did the use of perspective and mathematical systems in laying out the veneers. The combination produced a style of decoration that spread across Europe and even to the young colonies in America."
Date: c. 1625-50
This Kast is Oak with ebony and rosewood veneers
Dimensions Overall: 244.5 x 224.3 x 85.2 cm (96 1/4 x 88 5/16 x 33 9/16 in.)
A kast was often part of a woman's dowry, meant to hold the very valuable items of a Dutch household. It might contain textiles like linen sheets, lace, and finer fabric items for creating decor in the house. In wealthier households it might also contain silver utensils or ewers. The woman of the house generally wore the key to the kast and would unlock when items were to be removed or placed inside. Textiles were so valuable that some historians have calculated a single linen sheet could be the equivalent of a year of wages to a maid.