Second Viking shield part 1
After
finishing my first Viking shield art project, I decided to make another one as
I had found more timber up in my loft. So I started building it, but then realised
I just did not have enough wood. As you may remember, this timber was used for the
blind carving and my Viking shield. It came from a large industrial pallet that I
took apart and put up in my loft over ten years ago. The
timber was warped, cracked and really rough, but I always knew I would use it
for something other than cutting it up for firewood.
Anyway, as I was saying, after starting
to second shield, I now find I just do not have enough wood and also some it is
just not usable. So I went down to the nearest DIY store and bought the
cheapest cladding wood I could find and now have enough to also make a third shield as
well. As this new shield will be covered
in canvas or linen and painted, as some original Viking shields would have been
made, I went down to the local curtain shop and bought some large curtain liner
cloth as this will do the job at a fraction of the cost, as linen and canvas is expensive. When the Vikings made
this kind of cloth covered shield, they would then paint it with Viking /
Celtic designs. This is what I intend to do once this shield is complete.
So here are
some of the construction processes that go into making my shield.
I did the
edging the same way the Vikings would have done it, but used jute webbing instead
of raw hide, as I just can not afford to buy raw hide. I feel the jute webbing
looks every bit as good and as it is a sculptural art project and not going to
be used for battle, I feel the jute works and looks authentic.
I have to say that putting the
edging on the shield took me about 5 or 6 hours as it is made up from
individual over lapping pieces that are nailed and sown on. After a few hours
of working, I gradually found my rhythm when it was half way finished. Then it
only took about an hour to complete the rest.
I recon if I make this again, I
will complete the edging in 1 ½ hours instead of 5 or 6.
So this
photo shows the comparison between pre and post ageing. Also as you can see, I
have temperately put a boss in the center of the edged shield, to give an indication what the
finished piece will look like. By the way, the two photographs were taken at different times of day and also by different cameras.
Now all I
have to do is research and create a Viking / Celtic design that I will then
paint on, using natural earth colours like burnt sienna, red and orange ochre and colours that would have been
available a thousand years ago.
So once again, thank you for reading my blog and I will show the
completed shield in my next post.
4 comments:
In general, medieval shields come viking shield in three different shapes - long triangle, round, or oval. The long triangular shield has three points. Its shape is elongated, and usually covers a larger portion of the body compared to shields of other shapes.
The other commonly seen shape viking shield is the round shield. The viking shield is the perfect example. It is simple, made from wood, and looks completely round. As it is usually lighter than other shields, a round shield can be highly effective in close up combat. The shield, therefore, also reflects the fight style of its owner.
The other commonly seen shape is the viking shield round shield. The viking shield is the perfect example. It is simple, made from wood, and looks completely round. As it is usually lighter than other shields, a round shield can be highly effective in close up combat. The shield, therefore, also reflects the fight style of its owner.
When we consider each of the historical viking shield periods which have went by, the medieval era remains probably the most distinguished plus the most well-known. Its importance in history specifically depends upon shields, weapons as well as equipments applied to the combat and conflicts. It was actually during this period that big regions had joined along with their powerful armies and great military forces.
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