Before the 16th century, it would have been unheard of to have a purely decorative piece of furniture. Decorative pieces, like the "Frick" Renaissance Sideboard, were considered truly luxurious, and were owned by persons of great wealth, almost certainly nobility, to display their importance. Such pieces would likely have been used in a grand dining hall to house the finest linens and for the display of rare gold and silver objects of vertu.
