Viking shield with carved bear head relief composition - Bjorn the Berserker

This shield features a bear head carved in hardwood, attached to the center of the plywood base, with ornamental relief carved along the rim.
The bear head carving also features oaken leaves and acorns, axes, and other ornaments.
Berserker warriors of the Old Norse are commonly related to bears due to the animals' huge strength and ferocity, which the famous warriors showed in battles.
It is proposed by some authors that the Berserkers drew their power from the bear and were devoted to the bear cult, which was once widespread across the northern hemisphere.
In Slavic mythology, the bear is related to the God Veles, a major Slavic god of earth, waters, and the underworld.
The shield base is made out of 15mm thick birch plywood, and finished with wood staining and varnishing with linen seed oil and acrylic transparent coating. The bear head composition was carved separately on a 50 mm thick hardwood piece, and attached to the base.

Size - 70 cm ( 27.5 inches ) in diameter 
Weight - cca 4 kg ( 8.8 pounds )
Material - 15 mm thick plywood for the base of the shield, 50 mm thick oak or beech wood for the bear head