Originating from a shattered asteroid about 650 million years ago, Henbury is one of the great meteorite showers on record. After traversing interplanetary space for millions of years, the iron mass descended upon Australia’s Northern Territory about 4,200 years ago creating a field of 13 craters measuring up to 130 meters across and 15 meters deep. This crater field is a sacred site to the Arrernte Aborigines whose elders would neither camp near the craters nor drink the rainwater which collected there. They referred to the area as “Chindu China Waru Chingi Yabu", roughly translating to "Sun Walk Fire Devil Rock" — which does lend credence to the possible witnessing of the impact. Although the craters were discovered in 1899, the first meteorites were not identified until 1931, following reports of metallic rocks being used by the Aborigines. The rock now offered possesses the quintessential features of the very best Henbury meteorites. The scalloped face is bathed in a muted ochre-dabbled patina adorned with burnt-sienna highlights — the result of the Australian desert having chemically bonded to the meteorite’s surface. As a result of three shallow sockets, this meteorite is engagingly anthropomorphic. The highly textured surface and a multitude of ridges and flumes are delimited by a crest that runs the length of the specimen. The ability to obtain a meteorite from an impact cratering event is extremely limited and Henbury is among the most renowned of such events. Accompanied by a custom armature, this is a notable offering of a matchless object from interplanetary space that evokes wonder and awe— and which happens to resemble the emoji that communicates the same 😮.

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.

298 x 158 x 57mm (11.75 x 6.25 x 2.25 in.) and 6310 grams (13.9 lbs)