This is a limited edition print of NWA 15317 created by renowned photographer Neil Buckland. It was captured from a thin section only 30 microns thick (a human hair is 90-150 microns). Buckland has pioneered a new micro-panoramic imaging system that combines hundreds of individual photographs to yield a seamless "microscape" in unprecedented detail. The ability to image larger areas provides researchers a far greater context in their studies of commingled mineral components. Widely published and exhibited in both galleries and museums, Buckland collaborates with Dr. Anthony Irving, among the world’s foremost meteorite classification experts.

Angrites are among the rarest of all meteorites; only 40 are known to exist. In this partially cross-polarized image the curving arrays of “sawtooth” grains were produced by relatively rapid crystallization from molten magma within its ancient parent body. Crystalline arrays grew until adjacent arrays were encountered. The clear, bright grains are mostly olivine and kirschsteinite, and the purple-brown grains are titanium-rich pyroxene.

A 12-color archival pigment on 100% cotton rag and birchwood panel presented in a modern style — frameless, glassless with a satin acrylic finish and a unique back-beveled profile. The panel is signed and numbered — limited edition 1 of 9 — on the reverse.

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.

40 x 30 in. (101.6 x 76.2 cm)