Vesta is the only asteroid which can be seen with the naked eye and this is the largest sphere from Vesta known to exist. The trimming, grinding and polishing regimens in sphere fabrication result in a great deal of material loss which explains why this massive sphere was fashioned from a 13-kilogram mass.

Eucrites constitute a class of stony meteorites primarily composed of plagioclase and pyroxene and are named for the Greek eukritos meaning easily distinguished. Overwhelming scientific evidence suggests the surface and upper crust of Vesta are the source of eucritic meteorites, which makes eucrites among the only type of meteorites to have a "return address".

Scientists believe eucrites originated from Vesta not only because it is the only large asteroid with a basalt-covered surface, but as a result of numerous other diagnostic analyses. In addition, data transmitted from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, which orbited Vesta in 2011 and 2012, compellingly supports this conclusion.

It was billions of years ago that a massive impact between Vesta and another asteroid ejected a massive amount of Vesta into space, a small amount of which ultimately entered an Earth-crossing orbit. Jikharra 001 is a melt breccia of lithic clasts of plagioclase and pigeonite set in a variegated tawny-hued matrix of shock melt finished to a high-polish. As the spheres fabricated from lunar and Martian meteorites are far smaller, and as there are no known meteorites from Mercury, Venus, Saturn or Jupiter, now offered is the largest sphere on Earth originating from a parent body in space which can be seen with the naked eye.

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.

(Image 2, the view of Vesta, not part of the lot. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCAL/MPS/DLR/IDA).

147 x 147 x 147mm (5.75 x 5.75 x 5.75 in.) and 5.239 kilograms (11.5 lbs)