The heart of this antiquarian cabinet is provided by a late 17th century walnut cabinet-on-stand, that is likely to have formed part of the state apartment furnishings of Thomas Brooke's house at Mere. This cabinet, embellished with flower-inlaid ebony panels in the French Louis XIV manner, would originally have resembled that acquired for Ham House, Richmond about 1680 and illustrated by P. Thornton, 'The Furnishing and Decoration of House', Ham House, Furniture History, Leeds, 1980, fig. 101. In the 19th century many such pieces were adapted when they were moved from bedroom apartments for display in living rooms or galleries. It is likely that this transformation, combined with the application of a flowered-ribbon ormolu band below the marble, mosaic shelf, was carried out by Messrs. Fillow for Peter Brooke (d. 1840) in the late 1830s who collected specimen marbles while in Italy and whose 'antiquarian' interests resulted in the romantic 'Elizabethan' New Hall at Mere.

In the 1840 inventory it was listed on the Principal Landing as: 'A Beautiful inlaid cabinet, marble top and nest of drawers over ditto, with Pannels of marble painted & ebony'.