This and the nine matching upright cabinets (one of which is no longer in the Royal Collection) are usually said to have been made to house organ rolls associated with the claviorgan cabinet which William Vile altered in 1763 for Queen Charlotte. Notwithstanding the complete lack of documentation, the absence of any mechanical part of the organ and the fact that the cabinets themselves are entirely devoid of any fittings (or any sign of fittings), stylistic and circumstantial evidence appear to support this traditional identification and attribution.

The crisp and lively carving on the door fronts is entirely consistent with Vile's work at this date and moreover matches in certain respects the carving which he is thought to have added to the cabinet of the claviorgan. It is also of some significance that these cabinets have been associated with this organ from at least the early nineteenth century. If the supposition that the cabinets were made to hold organ rolls is correct (and if not, it is difficult to conceive what other purpose they served), then the alterations to the cabinet which Vile undertook in 1763 presumably coincided with substantial (but apparently undocumented) mechanical changes to the upright harpsichord and organ (claviorgan), since both instruments were always intended to be played manually.

Claviorgans, giving the player an unusual range of solo colours, were comparatively rare and were always at a disadvantage in being difficult to keep in tune. They enjoyed a vogue in England from the 1730s to the end of the century and were considered especially suitable for such works as Handel's theatre oratorios where the harpsichord (for recitatives) alternated with the organ (for choruses).

Catalogue entry adapted from George III & Queen Charlotte: Patronage, Collecting and Court Taste, London, 2004