Colonial document box

This document box is made for the Dutch on Batavia (or perhaps another colonial area). East India Company officials that were stationed on or further away from Batavia were required to regularly send written reports on trade and local politics to Europe. The Dutch East India Company merchants were tasked with detailing the customs and habits of the indigenous population, covering aspects like their housing, the type of household items they used, clothing, food, drinks, and religion. Descriptions also included the temperament of the people—whether perceived as cruel, friendly, faithful, or deceitful—and closely observed child-rearing practices, especially concerning children born to Dutch or other European parents. Detailed accounts of agriculture, animal husbandry, mining, and industries were essential. The diligent need for copying these reports three or four times made writing desks and document boxes essential furniture items. Notes were stored in flat document boxes or writing desks with sloping tops. In Indonesia, small writing desks were often made out of teak or amboyna wood. They were placed on matching stands. The flat document boxes on the other hand were typically crafted from amboyna wood with brass mounts, occasionally incorporating precious wood such as satinwood or calamander. The boxes are finished with bronze or silver mounts. Various other exotic wood types, sometimes indistinguishable to the naked eye, were also used for these furniture pieces. European types of wood could not stand the humid and warm climate in the colonies. 

Padouk is a sturdy and dense tropical wood, also known as padauk or paduak. Padauk trees are mostly indigenous of Africa (African padauk) but also less of Southeast Asia (Burma padauk or Andaman padauk). During the colonial era, trade routes were extensive, and materials from various parts of the world made their way to different colonies due to commerce and colonization.