Iron, fine octahedrite – IVA; Kiruna, Sweden (67°48’ N, 23°6’ E)

Possessing what is among the highest terrestrial ages of any meteorite, Muonionalusta fell to Earth about one million years ago in what is now northern Sweden. While meteorite hunters have unearthed numerous masses in recent years using metal detectors, it was back in 1906 that children discovered the first Muonionalusta while engaging in a favorite childhood pastime — the kicking of a rock…which could not readily be kicked.

Muonionalusta specimens are glacial erratics (material transported by a glacier), and their exposure to churning rocks and ice would account for the smooth surface and prosaic shapes of most specimens. As a result of being in one of Earth's largest rock tumblers, Muonionalusta meteorites are rarely aesthetic and instead have to be cut and sectioned in order to reveal the internal splendor seen in slices, spheres, watch faces, earrings and now an equilateral pyramid.

As the crystalline intergrowth seen does not appear in steel or rare examples of terrestrial metallic iron, its presence is diagnostic for iron meteorites, and different patterns are indicative of different meteorites.

Given the nearly identical chemical composition and crystalline fingerprint of Muonionalusta and Gibeon meteorites, we know they both originated from the same parent asteroid which shattered early in solar system history. While the Muonionalusta meteorite shower occurred approximately one million years ago, Gibeons tarried…but ultimately made it to the party on Earth about 975,000 years later.

This modern yet ancient sculptural form was rendered by renowned Russian artisan Alexei Kovalev. A narrow border at the perimeter of each triangular face is highly polished in what is otherwise a metallic crystalline pyramid from interplanetary space.

Christie's would like to thank Dr. Alan E. Rubin at the Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles for his assistance in preparing this catalogue.

66 x 79 x 66mm (2.5 x 3.1 x 2.5 in.) and 477.6 grams (1.0 lb)