MUONIONALUSTA METEORITE MASK - photo 1

MUONIONALUSTA METEORITE MASK

Sold
$ 4 410
Auction dateClassic
23.02.2022 00:00UTC +01:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
United Kingdom, London
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 716414
Lot 29 | MUONIONALUSTA METEORITE MASK
Possessing what is among the highest terrestrial ages of any meteorite, Muonionalusta fell to Earth about one million years ago in what is now northern Sweden near the Muonio River for which the meteorite was named. While meteorite hunters have unearthed numerous masses in recent years using metal detectors, it was back in 1906 that children discovered the first Muonionalusta meteorite while engaging in the pastime of kicking rocks — and finding one they couldn’t readily kick.

Despite its age, most specimens exhibit only minor interior weathering due to their composition and having been kept on ice in the freezer of the Arctic. Muonionalusta specimens are believed to be glacial erratics (material transported by a glacier), and their exposure to churning rocks and ice would account for the smooth surface and prosaic shapes of most specimens. As a result of being churned within one of Earth’s largest rock tumblers, most Muonionalusta meteorites are unexceptional and not aesthetic forms. The specimen offered here has been sliced from a larger mass to reveal its internal splendor.

As the crystalline intergrowth now seen does not appear in terrestrial iron ores, its presence is diagnostic for iron meteorites, and pattern variations are frequently indicative of different meteorites. This latticework, referred to as a Widmanstätten pattern, is a product of the solid-state intergrowth of two different iron-nickel minerals: kamacite (the low-nickel variety) and taenite (the high-nickel variety). The sockets are the result of cutting through two depressions in the meteorite — small sockets that grew in size over the course of a million years from exposure to Earth’s elements. From the core of an asteroid to a long residency in the Arctic, this is an engaging complete slice of an iron meteorite.

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.

66 x 169 x 2mm (2.66 x 6.75 x 0.1 in.) 125.2g (0.25 lbs)
Category:Meteorite
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
09.02.2022 – 23.02.2022
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

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.