PALLASITE — PMG LYON COUNTY, KANSAS (40°N, 89°W)

Price Realised USD 4,000

Estimate

USD 2,500 - USD 3,500

Loading details

Try our

A MONOLITHIC SLAB OF ADMIRE METEORITE

PALLASITE — PMG LYON COUNTY, KANSAS (40°N, 89°W)

Price Realised USD 4,000

A MONOLITHIC SLAB OF ADMIRE METEORITE
Pallasite — PMG
Lyon County, Kansas (40°N, 89°W)
Resplendent extraterrestrial crystals of olivine and peridot are suspended in an iron-nickel matrix in the cut and polished face of this rectangular section. The reverse external surface is largely flat with minimal texture indicating this section is from a much larger meteorite. The parent asteroid from which this material originated broke apart 100 million years ago. Modern cutting.
115 x 38 x 10mm. (4½ x 1½ x ⅓in.)
150g.

Please note that this lot is the property of a private collector.

Conditions of Sale
FAQs
This lot is offered by Christie's eCommerce SA

Brought to you by

A Christie's specialist may contact you to discuss this lot or to notify you if the condition changes prior to the sale.

Lot Essay

SPACE GEMS IN MONOLITHIC SLAB REVEALING INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR OF ADMIRE METEORITE

Admire is a member of the pallasite group of meteorites, widely considered to be the most beautiful of all. Pallasites formed at the mantle-core boundary of an asteroid as grains of stony olivine (a magnesium-rich silicate mineral) settled atop the molten iron core and became embedded in the metallic matrix. Gem-quality olivine is also known as the semi-precious gemstone peridot (the August birthstone) which is present in this specimen. The olivine grains in Admire are somewhat rounded and somewhat angular, indicating that the rock was heated and recrystallized after it formed. Originating from the asteroid belt, the first two masses of Admire were ploughed up in Lyon County, Illinois in 1881.

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.