Iron, coarse octahedrite – IIAB; Maritime Territory, Siberia, Russia (46°9' N, 134°39' E)

February 12, 2022 marks the 75th Anniversary of one of the largest meteorite showers of the last several thousand years. With an explosive yield estimated to rival that of an atomic bomb, had this event occurred over a populated area, the result would have been devastating. Originating from the core of an asteroid, upon slamming into Earth’s atmosphere it began to break apart, creating a fireball brighter than the Sun as it sailed over the Sikhote-Alin Mountains in Siberia. A 33-kilometer-long smoke trail persisted in the sky for several hours, and many of the resulting meteorites produced impact craters as large as 26 meters — with nearly 200 craters having been catalogued.

It is not often that slices of Sikhote Alin are available and this is a superb example. Similar to lot 63, its signature coarse octahedral crystalline pattern is revealed to great effect. Bands of schreibersite are seen at both the top and lower margin — where a nodule of troilite is also evident. This is a splendid representation from one of the most historic meteorite events of all time.

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.

129 x 107 x 3mm (5 x 4.25 x 0.1 in.) and 238.4g (0.5 lbs)