Carbonaceous chondrite – CO3 Antofagasta, Chile (24°51 ’S, 70°32’ W)

Numerous meteorites were found by meteorite hunters in a section of the Atacama Desert off the Atlantic coastline in the fall of 2016. The meteorites turned out to be carbonaceous and specifically, part of the CO3 family of meteorites. As such, they contain small yet abundant chondrules and CAIs (see lot 20)set in an iron-rich fine-grained matrix. The mineral assemblages are unequilibrated , which is to say there is little metamorphism and or recrystallization — and so the minerals seen display a wide range of compositions which reveal insights into their formation. As a class of meteorites, carbonaceous chondrites comprise the most-researched meteorites, and now offered is an exceptionally aesthetic fist-sized example.

A glazed, smoothed desert varnish rim in a milk chocolate hue delimits the perimeter of this phallus-shaped meteorite while the front and back surfaces feature a most unusual, engaging texture. The texture is the result of fragmentation in the atmosphere during the meteorite’s descent to Earth with the smoothened glazing being a product of the meteorite’s long residency in the desert prior to recovery. This is a most unusual presentation of a meteorite.

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.


101 x 69 x 28mm (4 x 2.75 x 1 in.) and 209g (0.5 lbs)