'remove the court-cupboard, look to the plate'

Romeo and Juliet (Act I, scene 5) 

Shakespeare could display his wealth through the number and type of domestic goods he owned. Storage furniture, like this court cupboard, could be used to both store and show-off specific household items. This cupboard contains two open shelves and its main function was display. It is decorated with carving called nulling as well as the decorative technique of inlaying wood of different colours into the surface (inlay). The bottom two shelves would have held prized domestic objects usually associated with dining. Plate made of pewter or bowls of silver, for example, might be positioned on these shelves. The top of the cupboard could also be used to display dining ware or might be used as an additional surface to serve food or refreshments. 

This court cupboard demonstrates the change in storage solutions that took place during Shakespeare’s lifetime. Court cupboards grew in popularity towards the end of the 1500s. They evolved from more traditional modes of storage such as livery cupboards. They reflect the expansion in the amount and type of objects entering homes in the early modern period. The more items people owned, the more storage they required. And the more people spent on these items, the more they wanted to display them.