Michelangelo's Hand

This terracotta model of a hand, known as 'Michelangelo's Hand' because it was formerly ascribed to him.

The date when a clay model was fired can often be established by measuring the radiation in a sample of the terracotta by a method called thermo-luminescence (or TL) testing. The TL test carried out on this hand showed that it was made in the 16th century, probably about 1580. A similar model of a hand was recorded in a room near the Cappella dei Principi in San Lorenzo, Florence, where Michelangelo carved the marble figures, but it had disappeared by 1813. It is possible that this is the same model.

The hand is cut off above the wrist.

The fingers hold a piece of drapery or indeterminate object, the lower surface of which has been flattened to provide a base.