IRON, FINE OCTAHEDRITE GIBEON, GREAT NAMA LAND, NAMIBIA

AN IRON METEORITE MATRIX — COMPLETE SLICE OF A LARGE GIBEON METEORITE

This is a select complete slice of the Gibeon iron meteorite. Most iron meteorites originated from the cores of asteroids that existed billions of years ago between Mars and Jupiter. Namibian tribesmen located the mass from which this slice originated with the aid of a metal detector. When cut and etched, Gibeons exhibit a fine-octahedral latticework of metallic alloys, troilite and taenite. This exquisite natural design is known as a Widmanstätten pattern. As this pattern does not appear in terrestrial iron ores, its presence is diagnostic of iron meteorites. All Gibeon meteorites will exhibit the same crystalline pattern. The sculptural Gibeon meteorites seen in this offering (see lots 1, 22 and 23) have little in common with the vast majority of prosaically shaped iron meteorites …which provides the opportunity to have them subdivided into slices, cubes and spheres to showcase their internal splendor.

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 catalogue note.