VALERA METEORITE — THE ONLY DOCUMENTED DEATH BY METEORITE - photo 1

VALERA METEORITE — THE ONLY DOCUMENTED DEATH BY METEORITE

Sold
$ 5 040
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 716390
Lot 5 | VALERA METEORITE — THE ONLY DOCUMENTED DEATH BY METEORITE
Meteorites have directly struck many homes, a few cars and a doghouse (see lot 4). Some meteorites have come perilously close to hitting people, but this has not occurred except for a woman in Alabama who was struck by a meteorite that ricocheted in her home after going through her roof, and a small meteorite that struck a banana tree before gently falling onto the head of a young boy in Uganda. There is, however, one meteorite that has been documented to have ended a life.

It was on the evening of October 15, 1972 that farmhands in Trujillo, Venezuela were startled by an inexplicable sonic boom. The next day an exotic rock was found alongside a cow’s carcass whose neck and clavicle had been pulverized. It was obvious to the farm’s owner, physician Dr. Argimiro Gonzalez, what had occurred, but he didn’t give it a second thought since such mayhem from falling meteorites seemed intuitive. An unplanned steak dinner was enjoyed that night and the celestial boulder was used as a doorstop. More than a decade later, scientists confirmed what Dr. Gonzalez had long presumed. However, what Dr. Gonzalez did not know was that this was the first and still only documented fatal meteorite impact. When Dr. Ignacio Ferrin, an astronomer at the University of the Andes, learned of the bovicide that had occurred at Valera, he visited the Gonzalez estate and left with an affidavit as to the aforementioned events as well as the meteorite itself.

Three faces of this spike-shaped specimen are cut and polished. The multi-hued variegated matrix is embedded with sparkling metallic grains. Blurred chondrule boundaries are evidence of heating on its parent asteroid long before its brush with the doomed bovine. Modern cutting.

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.

75 x 44 x 32mm (3 x 1.75 x 1.25 in.) and 160.5g (0.33 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.