Thousands of years after having collided with Earth, Campo del Cielo (“Valley of the Sky”) meteorites were first written about in 1576 by Spanish conquistadors in Argentina when the unearthly origin of these meteorites was not yet understood. The first large meteorite displayed at the British Museum of Natural History was a Campo, and several large Campo del Cielo masses can be found today in the finest museums in the world.

Although most iron meteorites were derived from the iron cores of asteroids following a catastrophic collision with another asteroid, Campo del Cielo and other IAB irons, probably formed near the surface of a metal-bearing chondritic body following a massive collision. After wandering in space for millions of years, it was only a few thousand years ago that large masses of what were to become Campo del Cielo meteorites slammed into Earth’s upper atmosphere — and the resulting explosive event resulted in the dispersal of thousands of meteorites. The largest fragments struck the ground at such high velocity that impact craters formed, at least 26 are known up to the size of a football field.

The unusual shape of this meteorite is largely due to terrestrialization (exposure to the elements on Earth). The meteorite fell in the seasonally hydrated “Valley of the Sky” where moisture and time slowly “erased” the fusion crust, the flight markings and the edges, resulting in the rounded organic abstract form now seen. Sculpted by a series of events commencing in the asteroid belt and ending on Earth, a charcoal patina with bright platinum highlights further embellish the mass — a fascinating, surprisingly dense object from outer space.

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.


257 x 168 x 141mm (10 x 6.66 x 5.5 in.) and 11.36 kg (25 lbs)