End piece of a Muonionalusta Meteorite

First discovered by a 10-year-old boy tending cattle in northernmost Sweden, Muonionalusta (named for the nearby Muonio River near the Arctic Circle) fell to Earth about one million years ago when it is believed the region was glaciated. Muonionalusta possesses one of the highest terrestrial ages of any meteorite. Yet, despite its great terrestrial age, many specimens exhibit only minor weathering (due both to the stability of the material as well as being kept in the natural freezer of the Arctic). This group-IVA iron meteorite originated from the core of a differentiated asteroid that broke apart about 400 million years ago. When the core shattered, Muonionalusta, Gibeon and a few dozen other IVA irons made their way to Earth. Muonionalusta specimens are believed to be glacial erratics (material transported by a glacier) — their exposure to churning rocks and ice for tens of thousands of years explains the smooth surface and prosaic shapes of most of the specimens. The splendor hidden inside is revealed to best effect in subdivided specimens such as the current offering.

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.