This ship's chest is one of the many effects that personnel of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) ‘picked up’ in Asia in the 17th and 18th centuries. They also acquired spices, tea, porcelain, silk and other wares that were valuable in Europe, often at prices forced down by violence. Employees liked to take their own cargo with them in these kinds of chests and sell it in the Netherlands for a good profit. [text 202]