In his 2020 film, FIREBALL, the much-hailed filmmaker Werner Herzog explores how different cultures and civilizations viewed meteorites and fireballs. Throughout time every major culture has attempted to explain the phenomenon of rocks falling out of the sky — a notion only accepted in the early 19th Century. Such extraterrestrial arrivals were seen as good tidings in some parts of the world. whereas in others they were considered the worst of omens. In Japan, meteorites are venerated and many are ensconced in Buddhist shrines. And yet, as recently as several centuries ago in Europe, you risked being executed for heresy if you said you saw a rock fall out of the sky. There is no doubt that a fireball and the attendant visual and sonic phenomena inspire awe. The rock climber who recovered the Talampaya meteorite in Argentina took a vow of silence for months after having seen the fireball coming towards him and being buffeted by a pressure wave prior to a too-close-for-comfort impact.

All of which brings us to the Naiman meteorite of China. The fellow who found the single mass, which would fit into an adult’s hand, reported he simply happened to stumble upon the meteorite in a forest on May 26, 1982. When the meteorite was conveyed to the Purple Mountain Observatory in China, it was so pristine it looked like it had fallen yesterday. As Dr. Wang Sichao of the Purple Mountain Observatory believes, the finder simply did not find this meteorite in a forest with ground cover — he saw it fall and was afraid to admit it.

This complete slice features a long arc whose rim is 99% covered with fusion crust. The bottom rim reveals the meteorite’s broken face. Thin undulating veins of shock melt traverse the cut and polished face which features a single straight dominant vein and a dusting of iron-nickel metal flakes — a signature feature of common chondrites. With a total known weight of only 1050 grams, and the majority of the mass residing at the Purple Mountain Observatory, this is an extremely rare offering that will only grace a handful of collections.

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.


32 x 41 x 2mm (1.25 x 1.66 x 0.1 in.) and 7.07g