Iron artificial arm, Europe, 1501-1562

Made:
1510-1562 in Newcastle upon Tyne
Artificial right hand, iron, ? owned by Gotz von Berlichingen Artificial right hand, iron, ? owned by Gotz von Berlichingen Timeline of artificial arm prostheses. From left to right: 1

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Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

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License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

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Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

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License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

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Artificial right hand, iron, ? owned by Gotz von Berlichingen
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Artificial right hand, iron, ? owned by Gotz von Berlichingen
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Timeline of artificial arm prostheses. From left to right: 1
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Artificial right hand, iron, ? owned by Gotz von Berlichingen, 16th century

Two iron artificial arms and an amputation saw. Previously, it was thought that the arms may have been owned by Gotz von Berlichingen (1480-1562), the German knight and adventurer. Artificial limbs such as these were expensive items made by armourers, and they allowed wearers, who had lost a limb in combat, to continue with their fighting career. One of the arms (A121449) is believed to date from 1560-1600, the other (A634412) is a more recent copy. The ornate amputation saw (A241432) is from the 16th century.