Yesterday a pair of 16th-century woollen socks – allegedly once worn by Michelangelo Buonarroti and lent, in a moment of Renaissance generosity, to none other than Leonardo da Vinci – sold at Wimble Bryton Auction House for a staggering £28 million, setting a new world record for socks.
The socks, modest in appearance and visibly threadbare in the heel, were described by the auction catalogue as “rustic but masterful in weave, possibly Florentine in origin, with light odour consistent with a diet of salted fish.”
The Story Behind the Socks
According to the auction house’s documentation – a blend of scholarly research, 17th-century marginalia, and what one expert called “ambitious inference” – the socks are believed to have been owned by Michelangelo in his later years. A marginal note found in a 1565 inventory of the artist’s belongings mentions “due calzini lanosi, usati, ma solidi” (“two woollen socks, worn but sturdy”).
There is also a mention in a letter fragment from Leonardo’s assistant, Francesco Melzi, dated 1504, which reads:
“The master did journey to Florence, but on arrival was troubled, for the rain had been great and his socks were soaked in the Arno. The sculptor Buonarroti, though at odds with the master on matters of anatomy and divinity, offered his own pair. They were warm. There was some irritation at the ankle, but no lasting quarrel.”
Historians have debated the veracity of this anecdote for centuries, but that hasn’t stopped believers – or bidders.
Bidding War: Passion, Prestige, and Footnotes
The auction began with a modest starting bid of £12,000, but quickly escalated when an anonymous bidder — rumoured to be an Italian fashion house CEO with a Michelangelo tattoo — entered the fray against a consortium of Florentine museum curators and a Swiss hedge fund with an emerging interest in Renaissance undergarments.
At one point, the auctioneer described the socks as “the very threads upon which two of the greatest minds in human history once tiptoed”. That, reportedly, is when the room gasped and the bid jumped by £500,000.
When the hammer finally fell at £28 million, applause broke out. A woman in the second row was seen dabbing her eyes.
Authenticity: Soft, but Strong Claims
Experts remain divided on the socks’ provenance. Textile analyst Dr. Emilia Bartók says the stitching is “consistent with Florentine handcraft of the early 1500s,” and carbon dating places the wool between 1480 and 1520. “Could it have been Michelangelo’s? Yes,” she said. “Could it also have belonged to someone else with cold feet? Also yes.”
Others are less cautious. “They’re Michelangelo’s socks. You can just feel it,” insisted noted art theorist Lars DiVentura. “They give off the same melancholy vibe as the north wall of the Sistine Chapel.”
What’s Next for the Socks?
The buyer, still unnamed, has reportedly offered to loan the socks to the Uffizi Gallery for a limited exhibition titled “Beneath the Genius: The Everyday wear of the Masters.” If approved, it would mark the first time socks would be displayed under bulletproof glass beside anatomical drawings and religious masterworks.
Rumours are already swirling of a potential Netflix miniseries, working title: “Wet Feet in Florence.”
