Medieval – Page 3 – PRAIRIE BENCH

Crown Throne

by Prairie BenchApril 3, 2014June 23, 20160

Prairie Bench has designed another replica throne for use on stage and in traveling campaigns… it’s portable!

The Crown Throne is 6′ tall, 27″ wide, with a seat height of 18″. The throne is for traveling and comes apart in five pieces. It takes less than a minute to set up or dismantle, making the Crown Throne a piece of furniture ideal for royalty on the move.

Designed in reclaimed spruce headed for the chipper, we take pride in giving new life to used wood and preserving the trees we have. The finish is Prairie Bench Storybook with rich walnut tones. There are 13 glass ‘onyx’ jewels on the backboard and the crown is positioned to hover over his or her highness. The middle of the backboard and frontspiece are open in case the patron requires some custom engraving such as a name or crest. The armrests are beveled in an elegant design and the seat is hand ground for comfort.

The component parts are left side, right side, frontspiece, seat and backboard and the entire throne weighs less than 20 kgs.

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Designed in reclaimed spruce
Finished in Prairie Bench Storybook and polyurethane.

Shield On Journey

by Prairie BenchApril 3, 2014November 29, 20150

An update on the Grand Battle Shield… it has traveled thousands of miles to the castle of its new owner. Unsure if the journey would be by boat, carriage, or on foot, we constructed a spruce attache case to fit. We want our patrons to feel like they are discovering a rare treasure when our pieces do arrive, so we design the cases to look like they come from somewhere exotic and mystical… because Prairie Bench is in just such a special place.

Grand Battle Shield

by Prairie BenchMarch 19, 2014November 29, 20150

This immense piece of defensive equipment would have to be carried by a few helpers while the knight did sword work around them. For one person to wield the Grand Battle Shield… they’d have to be strong.

The shield uses seven hand planed spruce timbers taken down to 1.5″ thick on a 5% curve. The diamond design is enhanced with 14 axe-breaking steel bolts called clavos. There is also evidence of several major sword and axe hits that look easily shrugged off by the battle shield. The edges are beveled and the back has laminated supports and burnt edges. You’re getting a sneak peek. There’s one more layer of poly finish and the wound iron handles yet to attach. We’re letting the wood breathe a little longer before it gets prepped for travel.

The Grand Battle Shield will hang on the wall with an easy- to- adjust burnt iron chain and 100 lb hook, when not in use.

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Size: 45″ x 36″
Weight: approx 50 lbs, 20 kgs
Designed in Spruce and finished with Prairie Bench Storybook. Uses hardwood dowels and hand tooled steel clavos.

Stag Shield

by Prairie BenchMarch 8, 2014November 29, 20150

One of the larger shields we make, the Stag Shield. Approximately 30″ x 42″ and designed in spruce with hemlock dowels. The shield is hand carved with a precision etching of a stag image. This is a functional wooden shield complete with iron hand grip and winding, and a leather sleeve. Total weight is about 20 lbs (8 kg). The Stag Shield is finished in Prairie Bench Storybook with a durable polyurethane clear coat to preserve the color and finish.

Designed as a wall hanging, this piece can also serve in a defensive capacity. FYI, the curved top on these medieval shield designs is functional and a knight would balance the lance on the shield, resting the shaft in the curve while riding into battle.

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Wooden Owl Mask

by Prairie BenchMarch 8, 2014November 29, 20150

The Owl mask is a representation of a local Barred Owl which lives in our region. It’s designed in spruce and approximately 20″ in diameter. Hand carved, it’s one of our most popular shield designs. The process includes pencil sketch of the features, chiseling the appropriate thickness and then cutting in the lines for feathers. The Owl Mask is finished in Prairie Bench Storybook tones. The mask would use a peg as a handle, but for the size of this project we’re using wooden grips. There’s a checkerboard pattern on the beak. The bare spruce will age golden and it seemed to give the design a medieval touch.

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prairie bench owl mask 273 5 — Hand carved feathers.

prairie bench owl mask 273 4 — Chiseled features.

Prairie Bench owl 1b — Peering from a spruce tree

prairie bench owl mask 273 6 — Through the eyes of the owl.