Karavannoe is a member of the Eagle Station grouplet of pallasites, the rarest group of pallasites in which there are only four other members. Eagle Station pallasites have a distinct oxygen isotope signature and their olivine is far richer in iron and calcium than other pallasites. In addition, the iron in Karavannoe is chemically similar to that of the IIF iron meteorite group — of which there are only seven members.

While Karavannoe is a member of an extremely rare subtype whose scientific implications are far-reaching, the meteorite from which this sample is derived was hiding in plain sight: in the 60s a stone selected to line a street in the Russian village of Karavannoe was determined to be a meteorite in 2010. This is a rare offering of a partial slice of an exotic meteorite. Modern cutting.

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.


35 x 54 x 2.5mm (1.33 x 2 x 0.1 in.) and 20.58g