Caskets like this were used by girls from affluent families in the 17th century for storing small personal possessions. The caskets were fitted inside with a variety of compartments, suitable for keeping jewellery, cosmetics, writing equipment and letters, needlework tools, tiny toys or keepsakes. They often had mirrors set into their lids, for dressing, and sometimes had secret drawers, in which to keep particularly precious possessions.
The panels of the casket would have been worked by a young girl, probably around age 11 or 12, as the culmination of her needlework education, which would have begun with samplers and the decoration of small objects like pin cushions. She would embroider a series of small panels drawn or printed with pictorial scenes, which would then be sent to a cabinetmaker to be made up into a casket, the edges bound with braid. The cost of the materials and the involvement of a cabinetmaker in making up such an item means that it could only have belonged to a household which could afford such an outlay.
The casket came to the museum with its protective case, made to protect the delicate surfaces of the embroidery. This has helped to preserve it from damage and the fading of its fresh colours.