Large angular ebony-hued inclusions which are compositionally chondritic in nature — in effect, fragments of a stone meteorite — are suspended in the metallic matrix. The external surface is draped in a pewter patina and is somewhat nodular as a result of the different compositions of the silicate and iron-nickel components, the two primary materials of which the meteorite is composed. This is a choice example of a silicated iron meteorite. Modern cutting.
133 x 102 x 59 mm. (5¼ x 4 x 2⅓ in.) and 1,313 g. (3 lbs)

The interior and exterior of a choice silicated iron meteorite revealed. While most Campo del Cielo meteorites contain occasional silicate inclusions, the specimen now offered contains an abundance of such inclusions and was, as a result, initially believed to be a completely different meteorite that happened to fall within the Campo del Cielo (“Valley of the Sky”) strewn field. Such specimens are, however, part of the Campo event; the chemical signature of the metal of this specimen matches that of other Campos. The penetrating threads of metal seen are the result of a massive shock event on the asteroid from which it originated.

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 catalog note.