IRON, COARSE OCTAHEDRITE – IAB-MG GRAN CHACO, ARGENTINA (27°28' S, 60°35' W)

Price Realised GBP 40,000

Estimate

GBP 30,000 - GBP 50,000

Closed: 28 Oct 2020

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AESTHETIC CAMPO DEL CIELO IRON METEORITE — MASSIVE SCULPTURE FROM OUTER SPACE

IRON, COARSE OCTAHEDRITE – IAB-MG GRAN CHACO, ARGENTINA (27°28' S, 60°35' W)

Price Realised GBP 40,000

Closed: 28 Oct 2020

Price Realised GBP 40,000

Closed: 28 Oct 2020

Details Lot Essay Related Articles More from

Resembling an asteroid in miniature, this meteorite has a surface covered with the tell-tale thumbprints that result from atmospheric frictional heating. Deceptively dense, this meteorite is pocketed with a russet patina with platinum highlights to the ridges. Supported on tall pedestal.
19¹⁄₂ x 15 x 7in. (49.5 x 38 x 18cm.)

On stand 61 x 14.5 x 14.5in. (155 x 36.5 x 36.5cm.)
108kg

Macovich Collection of Meteorites, New York City
Sale, lot 49045 12 June 2011, Heritage Dallas
Sale, lot 72110 20 July 2019, Heritage Dallas

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.
These lots have been imported from outside the EU or, if the UK has withdrawn from the EU without an agreed transition deal, from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime.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.

Conditions of Sale
FAQs
This lot is offered by Christie Manson & Woods Ltd

Brought to you by

James Hyslop

A Christie's specialist may contact you to discuss this lot or to notify you if the condition changes prior to the sale.

jhyslop@christies.com +44 (0)20 7752 3205

Lot Essay

Thousands of years after landing on Earth, Campo del Cielo (“Valley of the Sky”) meteorites were first written about in 1576 by Spanish explorers in Argentina when their unearthly origins were not yet understood. It was a “Campo” that was the first large meteorite ever displayed in a major museum — the British Museum of Natural History — and several large Campo del Cielo masses can be found today in the finest museums in the world. Few, if any, possess as finely articulated (the flight markings acquired from burning through Earth’s atmosphere) as seen on the example now offered.

Campo del Cielo meteorites formed as the result of two asteroids colliding at cosmic velocity in interplanetary space. When a large fragment from one of these asteroids hit Earth’s upper atmosphere more than 4,000 years ago, the immense pressure exerted on the mass caused it to explode into thousands of pieces. The larger meteorites struck the ground at such a high velocity that an array of at least 26 impact craters formed, the largest a football field in diameter.

This lot has been imported from outside the EU for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the . VAT at 20% will be added to the but will not be shown separately on the invoice. Please see the Conditions of Sale for further information.