On February 1, 2019 at 1:17 p.m. a massive fireball burst through Earth’s atmosphere over far-western Cuba; as a result of the shockwaves generated the ground shook for 15 seconds. And then a meteorite shower descended on Viñales Valley, home of a national monument designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Meteorites were discovered throughout the Valley with several having burst through resident’s rooftops. One lucky fellow had just gotten up from a nap when a meteorite crashed onto his bed. While some Viñales meteorites shattered on impact, most are wrapped or partially covered in fresh black fusion crust. The matrix of Viñales specimens is a light gray, transected by shock veins of impact melt created during a collision on the meteorite’s parent asteroid.

More than 100 kilograms of meteorites were recovered. Numerous stones were collected near the monument — a giant cliffside painting entitled "Mural of Prehistory" by Leovigildo Gonzalez Morillo, a protégé of Diego Rivera. It took four years for the mural to be completed and, at 120 meters in length, it is one of the biggest open-air paintings in the world.

What makes this particular specimen uniquely special is that it is the only specimen known to have struck the monument. It hit a the cliffside painting where the dinosaurs’ yellow heads reside — which is rather ironic as it was an asteroid impact that ended the Dinosaur Age. Yellow paint is seen on the fusion crust which covers approximately 75% of the mass.

Accompanied by a custom armature, now offered is what is inarguably the quintessential meteorite from the historic Viñales event.

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.
97 x 82 x 78mm (3.75 x 3.25 x 3 in.) and 880 grams (2 lbs)

Macovich Collection of Meteorites, New York City