LIBYAN DESERT GLASS — WHEN AN ASTEROID STRIKES EARTH - photo 1

LIBYAN DESERT GLASS — WHEN AN ASTEROID STRIKES EARTH

Lot 56
28.03.2023 11:00UTC -05:00
Classic
Sold
$ 1 386
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUSA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 927047
Lot 56 | LIBYAN DESERT GLASS — WHEN AN ASTEROID STRIKES EARTH
Estimate value
$ 1 200 – 1 800
Libyan Desert Glass (or Great Sand Sea Glass) is the result of terrestrial sand having melted into glass following what was an enormously energetic asteroid or comet impact at the border region of what is today Libya and Egypt approximately 29 million years ago. To melt sand, temperatures of more than 1600° C (2900° F) are required; the hottest substance at the Earth’s surface, very few volcanic lavas come close to that temperature, and no such lavas are known in Northern Africa. Similar glass forms are named after the locality in which they are found, hence Australites, Indochinites, Philippinites, Moldavites, etc. The higher the silica content of such impact glass, the lighter the color, and so Libyan Desert Glass — derived from sand and containing 98% silica — is sunny yellow while moldavites from the Moldau River Region of the Czech Republic with 80% silica cover a range of green hues. Libyan Desert Glass was used to make tools during the Late Pleistocene epoch and was displayed as jewelry, especially scarabs, in the Pharaonic Period. Samples of Libyan Desert Glass were found in King Tut’s tomb including a treasure chest containing an elaborate breastplate of gold, silver and other precious gems — with a central scarab carved from a canary-yellow Libyan Desert glass.

This variegated smoky yellow specimen has ribbons of different hues coursing through the mass. One end is tapered and exceedingly translucent. This is a naturally sandblasted glass form created by an asteroid having impacted the Sahara Desert; an artifact of a cataclysmic event frozen in glass.

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.

73 x 65 x 67mm (3 x 2.5 x 2.66 in.) and 279.7 grams (0.6 lbs)
Art style:Aestheticism
Category:Meteorite
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
Preview
28.03.2023
27.03.2023
Phone +1 212 636 2000
Fax +1 212 636 4930
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Shipping Postal service
Courier service
pickup by yourself
Payment methods Wire Transfer
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 09:30 – 17:00   
Tu 09:30 – 17:00   
We 09:30 – 17:00   
Th 09:30 – 17:00   
Fr 09:30 – 17:00   
Sa closed
Su closed

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.
?>