Birdseye Meets Curly. Leitz Summicron 50mm DR

I discovered in my lumber stash a single board from decades ago of curly maple.   It is perfect for the frame of the Roubo-style frame saw under construction: hard and tough to take the stress that will be imposed on the frame when the saw blade is tensioned.  Curly maple exhibits a figure called chatoyancy: the figure has a 3-dimensional ripple effect which traverses the board at right angles to the tree's growth.  This is thought to be caused by the tree flexing backwards and forwards as it bends to the wind.  The lumber is highly sought after by the violin makers who use it to spectacular effect for the backs of fiddles .
After some deliberation, I decided to use the beautiful birdseye maple I have on hand just for the handles of the saw frame, and save the rest for what may be the drawer fronts of the bedside tables under construction in the background.  The Design and Production departments have been at odds for weeks about how to decorate those drawer fronts, something in the tradition, yet a little quirky and different.  We have mused on the idea of using the block-printed papers traditionally used to decorate 17th Century Flemish harpsichords.  The tables are in the Cape Dutch tradition after all;  it's not too much of a stretch, but the papers are not beautiful enough to justify the expense and effort.  Riffing on the 17th Century Dutch theme, I briefly considered reproductions of Rembrandt’s “Night Watch” applied to the drawer fronts  using the techniques we used for The Blanket Chest.  But Design nixed that.  Well, we may just have to let Nature be our decorator...