Chest of the States Gener

This chest is part of the archive that was kept in the assembly hall of the States GeneralStates GeneralIn Bruges in 1464 representatives of the estates of the various provinces of the Netherlands assembled for the first time at the invitation of Philip the Good under the name States General. A century later, during the Dutch Revolt against the Spanish king, the States General assumed sovereign power. Under the Dutch Republic (1588-1795) the States General represented the central authority. The delegates of the seven provinces met in the Binnenhof in The Hague. Today, the States General is the name given to the combined upper and lower houses of the Dutch parliament. around 1700. It contained documents relating to international political affairs. Behind the doors are some 39 drawers and a further inner chest which can be separately locked. The various drawers are labelled with the names of different countries. Among the contents of the inner chest would have been the velvet case containing the Treaty of Münster. There is no indication regarding when and by whom the chest was made. A commission is recorded by the States General in 1621 to Denijs Bueren van den Hove to make a chest in which 'important papers' could be kept. It could be this chest.