Following ancient traditions, in the Renaissance and Baroque period, amber—"the gold of the Baltic sea"—was regarded as a substance of mythical origin with magical power. This parade casket is one of the most important and best preserved examples of amber work to have survived form the seventeenth century. Its architectural design and decoration are related to a drawing for a similar casket signed by Michel Redlin, who is documented as an "amber carver" in Gdansk in 1688. In this casket, Redlin incorporated nearly all types of amber—translucent, opaque, and the so-called milky variants—to emphasize the interplay of ars et natura (art and nature) that his learned patrons considered the most desirable characteristic of a treasury or Kunstkammer object. He transformed the natural material into a masterpiece of craftsmanship with the ingenious use of carving, turning, delicate engraving, and other refined techniques. Landscapes and pastoral scenes were engraved into much of the surface from behind. Only the base section, with a drawer, has a wooden core; the two tiers above are decorated with an ambitious system of rectangular or oval sections consisting exclusively of whisper-thin plates of transparent amber. When the casket is illuminated, a whole palette of sunset colors delights the viewer's eye.

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