Design for a Concave Corner Cabinet (Possibly Part of a Larger Wall-Covering Unit) ca. 1730-40 Anonymous, German, 18th century German Although at first sight this design for a cabinet may appear somewhat strange, a second view tells us that were looking at the somewhat flattened perspectival view of a concave corner cabinet. A very similar shaped example can be found in the secret library of the Benedictine monastery at Ottobeuren (Schwaben, Germany), where it is part of a larger wall unit dated 1730. The decorations of both cabinets are also very similar with a relatively modest pattern made up out of strapwork which is so typical for the Baroque period. Strongly adding to the decorative effect however, was the interplay of the different wood species used for the marquetry. The cabinet at Ottobeuren is characterized by a base of nut wood, which was contrasted by the dark outline of mahogany and plum and enlivened by the painterly effect of the flaming wood grain of birch and maple wo