Details
This dense iron-nickel cube that is in effect, extraterrestrial steel, exhibits a Muonionalusta meteorite’s choice crystalline fingerprint in three dimensions. Modern cutting.
2 x 2 x 2in. (5 x 5 x 5cm.)
0.8kg.
Special notice
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.
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Lot Essay

Muonionalusta meteorites were found in northern Sweden above the Arctic Circle near the Muonio River. While meteorite hunters have unearthed numerous masses in recent years, it was back in 1906 that children discovered the first Muonionalusta while engaging in a favorite childhood pastime: kicking rocks—and in this instance kicking an unexpectedly dense object later verified to be a meteorite. Possessing what is among the highest terrestrial ages of any meteorite, Muonionalusta fell to Earth about one million years ago when the region was glaciated. Despite its age, many specimens exhibit only minor interior weathering as a result of it being “on ice” in the freezer of the Arctic. Muonionalusta specimens are believed to be glacial erratics (material transported by a glacier), and their exposure to churning rocks and ice during the course of four ice ages would account for the smooth surface of most specimens. It is all about the splendor within; when sliced and etched, Muonionalusta displays the classic Widmanstätten pattern, the intergrowth of two iron-nickel minerals that form an unearthly metallic grid in shimmering shades of gray and silver which is diagnostic in the identification of an iron meteorite.

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