Chondrite – L5; Jiddat al Harasis, Oman

Collisions were rampant in early solar system history. Small asteroids and comets slammed into the surfaces of larger asteroids; sometimes these projectiles completely melted, but on a few occasions, they arrived at a relatively low velocity and remained intact. The surviving foreign material became suspended in the matrix of its target host — and such is the case with Ghubara. On the curvilinear surface atop this fragment, a misty gray clast is seen. We know from the examination of similar clasts in other Ghubara meteorites that these are remnants of enstatite meteorites that formed long before the host rock formed. Because such clasts are foreign to everything else about this meteorite, Ghubara is referred to as being a xenolithic meteorite.

The meteorite’s surface was sandblasted by the strong winds of the Arabian Sea off the coast of Oman as it sat in the Jiddat al-Harasis Desert. This sculptural, aesthetic form appears as if it’s afloat in zero gravity as its tapered lower extremity obscures the post which holds it aloft on the accompanying custom pedestal. Now offered is an uncommon example of a meteorite comprised of two distinctly different materials — both extraterrestrial — that combined billions of years ago following an impact in interplanetary space.

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.

191 x 214 x 88mm (7.5 x 8.5 x 3.5 in.) and 3,356.9g (7.33 lbs)