Prized by museums and private collectors everywhere, Canyon Diablo ("Canyon of the Devil") meteorites are the quintessential American meteorite. Like most meteorites, this specimen originated in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Approximately 49,000 years ago it was part of an errant asteroid that plowed into the Arizona desert with the force of more than 100 atomic bombs. Fragments were ejected more than 11 miles away from the point of impact and the main mass vaporized, creating the most famous and best-preserved meteorite crater in the world—the renowned Meteor Crater near Winslow, Arizona. The crater is nearly a mile across and 600 feet deep.

At the turn of the 20th Century, businessman Daniel Barringer reasoned this crater had to have been created by an enormous mass weighing millions of tons; he further believed this mass, worth a fortune in nickel and iron, lay under the crater's base. Over a period of decades a fortune was invested searching for this mass but it was never found. Modern science informs that a meteorite far smaller than what Barringer believed existed would possess sufficient energy to blow a huge hole in the desert floor…as well as generate enough heat to vaporize most of its mass. In effect, the mass that Barringer spent the last part of his life searching for didn't exist — but this engaging example does, as does the crater, which has proven to be a boon to the Barringer family and is an international tourist attraction not to be missed.

The cut surface of this end piece reveals a superior display of a Canyon Diablo’s crystalline habit. The reverse is largely convex with one smoothly sloped portion with a more ragged texture extending most of its length. This is a fine representation from the best preserved meteorite crater on Earth.

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.

77 x 108 x 29mm (3 x 4.25 x 1 in.) and 494.7g (1 lb)