Billions of years ago during the early stages of the formation of the solar system the asteroid belt was a cosmic pinball gallery. Catastrophic collisions between asteroids were a regular occurrence, frequently resulting in the complete shattering of one or both asteroids. Following one such event, what was to become the mass of metal responsible for Odessa, was deflected into an Earth-crossing orbit. Tens of thousands of years ago, the Odessa meteorite entered Earth’s atmosphere as a large fireball and broke up in flight, creating several craters in what is now a working Texas oilfield.

This meteorite is composed primarily of iron and nickel — in effect, natural extraterrestrial steel. It is from an asteroid that once existed between Mars and Jupiter. The sculpting seen is a result of Odessa having been exposed to the Texas elements as the seasons turned over tens of thousands of years. This is the archetype of an iron meteorite. Numerous ridges, furrows and flanges abound and are covered by a deep gun-metal patina with pewter highlights and earthen accents.

Only about 2% of all meteorite falls are of the iron variety, and this is a choice example from the largest American meteorite shower and the second most famous American impact event (the first being Meteor Crater, Arizona , see lot 67 — the result of a single asteroid plowing into the Arizona Desert).

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.


291 x 313 x 129mm (11.5 x 12.33 x 5 inches) and 22.48 kilograms (49.5 lbs.)