Details
The smooth, highly textured surface is blanketed in a charcoal patina with chrome accents to the ridges and russet tones to the deepest grooves. The form evocative of the asteroid, from which it originated, the meteorite’s entire surface is blanketed with sought-after regmaglypts (the scalloping that occurred as this mass penetrated Earth’s atmosphere and underwent surficial melting). A natural small hole pierces the specimen.
10 x 6 x 5in. (25 x 15 x 13cm.)
9.2kg.
Special notice
Specified lots are being stored at Crozier Park Royal (details below) or will be removed from Christie’s, 8 King Street, London, SW1Y 6QT by 5.00pm on the day of the sale. Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. If the lot has been transferred to Crozier Park Royal, it will be available for collection from 12.00pm on the second business day following the sale. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Crozier Park Royal. All collections from Crozier Park Royal will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s, 8 King Street, it will be available for collection on any working day (not weekends) from 9.00am to 5.00pm
Please note this lot is the property of a consumer. See H1 of the Conditions of Sale.
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Lot Essay

Campo del Cielo meteorites were first described by Spanish explorers in 1576, nearly 6,000 years after their collision with Earth and far before their unearthly origins were understood. A Campo was the first large meteorite ever displayed at the British Museum of Natural History, and Campo del Cielo (“Valley of the Sky”) masses are today found in the finest museums in the world. Fortuitously, a previously unknown portion of the Campo strewn field (the area in which a meteorite shower is "strewn" across the Earth's surface) was discovered. Located at a higher elevation than the valley where the majority of Campos fell, the meteorites recovered from this region were less susceptible to incursions of ground water and, as a result, exhibit far better preservation—as is evidenced in the current example. All iron meteorites originate from what was the molten iron core of an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter that shattered apart billions of years ago following an impact with another asteroid. Decorative and robust, this is the quintessence of a choice Campo del Cielo meteorite.

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