Structure, mock-up model and environment-induced deformations of Italian laminated wood parade shields from the 16th century

Round shields made of laminated wood were widely used in Italy in 15th – 17th centuries for tournaments, parades and exhibitions. The manufacturing techniques originally used are not known from literature nor from any still living tradition. This paper describes: (a) a structural analysis of the shield on which Caravaggio painted his well known Medusa (1598); (b) the recently completed construction of a mock-up shield, manufactured with materials and techniques reproducing as much as possible the supposed original ones; (c) the initial results of monitoring performed both on (i) an original shield exhibited in the Museo Bardini in Florence, and (ii) the above mentioned mock-up shield, placed in climatic chambers at DISTAF.