This meteorite originates from the second largest meteorite shower of the last several thousand years. Its journey began when two asteroids collided, resulting in the liberation of a metallic iron core that then wandered through interplanetary space for 385 million years before encountering Earth on February 12, 1947.

Slamming into our atmosphere at 10:38 AM local time, the mass produced a fireball brighter than the Sun as it broke apart and sailed over Siberia’s Sikhote-Alin Mountains. As a result of the increasing pressure exerted on the largest mass, another explosion occurred at a very low altitude and the shockwaves from this explosion collapsed chimneys, shattered windows and uprooted trees. Sonic booms were heard more than 300 kilometers away and a smoke trail 33 km long persisted in the sky for hours. A famous painting of the event by artist and eye-witness P. I. Medvedev was reproduced as a postage stamp issued by the Soviet government in 1957 to commemorate what many witnesses likened to what was seemingly the end of the world.

There are two types of Sikhote-Alin meteorites: the more sought-after scalloped specimens (that broke free of the main mass in the upper atmosphere) and the jagged and twisted specimens (that resulted from the low-altitude explosion). This is an example of the former. Wrapped in a deep pewter-hued patina with charcoal accents and chrome highlights, this meteorite is completely covered with regmaglypts — the artifact of atmospheric frictional heating during its solitary fiery plunge through our atmosphere.

Iron meteorites are rare. They represent less than 2% of all meteorites. Only 49 irons are witnessed falls which represent merely 3.4% of the 2%. From one of the most historic meteorite showers since the dawn of civilization, now offered is a quintessential Sikhote Alin meteorite.

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.
67 x 99 x 55mm (2.66 x 4 x 2 in.) and 979 grams (2 lbs)