The Moon – lunar feldspathic breccia; Sahara Desert, Mauritania

The Moon is among the rarest substances on Earth. Every single bit could fit in the trunk of a large SUV. In addition, a significant fraction is not available to the public. All of the Apollo material and a good deal of lunar meteorites, i.e., pieces of the Moon ejected off the lunar surface following an asteroid impact, are held by public institutions and museums.

Only because of the relatively large amount of NWA 12691 material recovered does the opportunity exist to fashion a limited number of lunar spheres as the trimming, grinding and polishing result in a great deal of material loss. Now offered is a very limited and captivating presentation of the Moon.

NWA 12691 is composed of fragments of olivine, pigeonite, augite, ilmenite and signature white anorthite naturally cemented together by what was a melt of lunar regolith and other crushed rock. The brecciation seen is the result of ongoing asteroid bombardments (the source of nearly all of the Moon’s craters) prior to the impact responsible for launching this rock to Earth. Destined to forever inspire awe and wonder, this is the Moon.

For a more comprehensive description of a lunar sphere, see lot 45.

The official classification of the material from which this sphere was hewn was performed by Dr. Anthony Irving, the world’s foremost classifier of lunar and Martian meteorites. His work underwent peer review prior to publication in the 108th edition of the Meteoritical Bulletin.

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.

41mm (1.66 in.) in diameter and 106.9 grams (0.25 lbs)