Master woodworker Sam Maloof died in May at the age of 93. He made his first cradle in 1949 for his son Soliman. Back in 2004, when he was just 88, he told the Daily Star [Lebanon, the country] "When we get an order for a [$35,000] cradle, all other work stops because babies can't wait."
The first awesomest Sam Maloof cradle is at Stork Bites Man. [sbm]
Both were included in the 2006 Maloof exhibition at the Mingei Museum in San Diego [smugmug]
UPDATE: no, wait, they're different versions! There are at least two!
whoa. the cradle/cabinet at the Mingei is #1 awesome. Check out the door handles. (Different than the one I posted. So, there are at least three...)