One of the most ancient items of furniture is the chest, which served as the basis for a number of later furniture types: the cupboard with a single door (when stood on one end), the seat with arms and a back, the table (when supplied with a larger top), and the bed.

A new feature on this Low Countries oak chest is that its sides are made using framed panel inserts. These represented the greatest achievement of Gothic joinery, since they put an end to the cracking of the sides - caused by fluctuations in temperature and humidity - that invariably occurred after a time in furniture made from planks. The proportions and the austere embellishment of the chest follow strictly from its construction: the panel inserts are ornamented with the "parchment scroll" motif, a distinctive furniture embellishment; it spread thanks to the invention of the profile cutter.

Analogies of the present piece are to be found in the City Hall, Bergen and in the small dining room of Hotel Gruuthuuse, Bruges (Brugge).

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