Iron, ataxite (ungrouped) Ryazan district, Russia

This is a bewilderingly atypical example of a most unusual meteorite. Dronino meteorites were first found in the Ryazan district of Russia in 2000 by a mushroom hunter. The region has been inhabited for about a millennium and as there are no reports of a large meteorite impact, it can be confidently inferred that the mass must have fallen more than a thousand years ago. This terrestrial age is consistent with the high degree of terrestrialization (weathering) in evidence—not only in form but its unique crenelated texture. Less than 2% of all meteorites are of the iron variety, and 90% are members of distinct chemical groups that hail from about a dozen different asteroids. 10% however are chemically unrelated; they come from unknown parent bodies and are referred to as “ungrouped” irons. Dronino is one of these unusual, ungrouped irons—a sought-after designation for both the scientific and the collecting communities. Given its unique chemical make-up, one would expect that Dronino meteorites interacting with Earth’s geochemistry for more than 1000 years would yield interesting results. Dronino does not disappoint. There is no other meteorite that looks like Dronino, and no North American museum has a Dronino meteorite as large as this imposing modern totem from outer space.

Christie's would like to thank Dr. Alan E. Rubin at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles for his assistance in preparing this catalog note.