Massive polished and etched sphere -- one of the largest ever made. Revealing in three dimensions the robust crystalline fingerprint in a perspective not available when viewing a flat surface.

Campo del Cielo (“Valley of the Sky”) meteorites are the result of a cataclysmic collision between two asteroids in interplanetary space. The Campo parent asteroid shattered with massive sections being ejected into interplanetary space.  When a large fragment later struck Earth’s upper atmosphere about 4,000 years ago, the result was further explosive fragmentation into thousands of meteorites. The larger meteorites struck the ground at such a high velocity that an array of more than 20 impact craters formed, the largest measuring nearly a football field in diameter. This meteorite, while far smaller, looms large: it was formed by a large impact onto an asteroid located between Jupiter and Mars. Spanish Conquistadors in Argentina were the first to document the meteorites in the 16th Century, but never for an instant considered their extraterrestrial origin.

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.
180 mm diameter
26.9kg.

This lot will be removed to Christie’s Park Royal. Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. Our removal and storage of the lot is subject to the terms and conditions of storage which can be found at Christies.com/storage and our fees for storage are set out in the table below - these will apply whether the lot remains with Christie’s or is removed elsewhere. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Christie’s Park Royal. All collections from Christie’s Park Royal will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s it will be available for collection on any working day 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. Lots are not available for collection at weekends.
This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.
Please note this lot is the property of a consumer. See H1 of the Conditions of Sale.