Minneapolis Institute of Art

Table cabinet

Germany

Date

c. 1560–70

Medium

Oak and pine veneered with partly stained and ebonized maple, plum, ash, with etched, blued, and parcel gilt iron fittings

Department

European Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Elaborately veneered cabinets were a specialty of German cabinetmakers in the 1500s and 1600s, appealing to titled and wealthy patrons across Europe. The most sumptuous, like this one, were made in Augsburg, a city of wealth and sophistication, and were prized as much for the materials, scale, and complexity of their decoration as for the precious objects inside. Every surface of this cabinet is veneered, with several varieties of wood cut and pieced together like a puzzle. The imagery is based on engravings of the time, such as armored figures in close combat, slaying mythical creatures—including a unicorn and a dragon—or hunting wild animals. These scenes are set against a dense background of scrolling decoration and leaves inhabited by fruit, flowers, birds, and other creatures, as well as symbols of military might. Germany

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