A decorated court cupboard like this one might have been brought with Mary in 1561 from France.

Description: This piece of furniture is called a 'court cupboard'. It is made in a late 16th century French style and would have been very 'modern' at the time. We can imagine that Mary may have brought furniture like this with her from France when she returned in 1561.

Court cupboards were usually used to store eating and drinking vessels but some were put into bedchambers to provide storage shelves. The shelves of this cupboard also have thin drawers in them.

It is not what we think of as a cupboard today. A 16th century cupboard was originally a set of open shelves for displaying silver, gold and other expensive objects, rather than a cabinet with doors that could be closed.

The top would have been covered with decorative cloths, such as 'dornix', a type of cloth made of linen, wool and maybe gold thread. The carved front would be left on display to show that it is an expensive item.

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