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LOT 36

EXTRATERRESTRIAL GEMS IN MASSIVE SEYMCHAN METEORITE SLICE, Pallasite – PMG Magadan District, Russia (62°54’ N, 152°26’ E)

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Large, articulated zones of olivine and peridot are suspended in a matrix of iron-nickel. The outer rim of the meteorite’s exterior surface is muted. The shimmering shades of gray and silver in the Widmanstätten pattern of the matrix are robust. Originating from the mantle/core boundary of an asteroid that shattered following a massive impact event, this is a superlative example of the comingling between the mantle and core of a differentiated asteroid. Modern cutting.
550 x 410 x 6 mm. (21.75 x 16 x 0.25 in.)

7.98 kg. (17.5 lbs.)

Less than 0.2% of all meteorites are pallasites, the most beautiful extraterrestrial substances known. Crystals of olivine and peridot (gem-quality olivine and the birthstone of August) abound in this substantial and singular complete slice. The meteorite from which this slice was cut originated from an asteroid’s mantle/core boundary that shattered following an asteroid impact. Some fragments were eventually nudged into an Earth-crossing orbit, and an immense meteorite shower occurred near what is now the Siberian outpost of Seymchan, proximal to Stalin’s gulags.

Both the mantle and core portions of this meteorite crystallized. The unearthly mosaic in the metallic portion is referred to as a Widmanstätten pattern. This pattern—the result of the intergrowth of two iron-nickel alloys—only exists in meteorites where it can vary widely.

Pallasites are named after the 18th Century scientist Peter Pallas (1741-1811), an honor Pallas is fortunate to have received, as he never accepted that the strange boulder he had discovered originated from outer space. More recently in the 1960s, two large metallic masses found in a streambed near Seymchan were determined to be extraterrestrial. The site was revisited in 2002 by meteorite hunters who recovered several large specimens. Seymchan is an unusual transitional pallasite; the olivine and peridot appear in heterogenous zones—a pattern strikingly evident in this large format example, among the finest of its kind.

Christie's would like to thank Dr. Alan E. Rubin at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles for his assistance in preparing this catalogue note.

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[ translate ]

Large, articulated zones of olivine and peridot are suspended in a matrix of iron-nickel. The outer rim of the meteorite’s exterior surface is muted. The shimmering shades of gray and silver in the Widmanstätten pattern of the matrix are robust. Originating from the mantle/core boundary of an asteroid that shattered following a massive impact event, this is a superlative example of the comingling between the mantle and core of a differentiated asteroid. Modern cutting.
550 x 410 x 6 mm. (21.75 x 16 x 0.25 in.)

7.98 kg. (17.5 lbs.)

Less than 0.2% of all meteorites are pallasites, the most beautiful extraterrestrial substances known. Crystals of olivine and peridot (gem-quality olivine and the birthstone of August) abound in this substantial and singular complete slice. The meteorite from which this slice was cut originated from an asteroid’s mantle/core boundary that shattered following an asteroid impact. Some fragments were eventually nudged into an Earth-crossing orbit, and an immense meteorite shower occurred near what is now the Siberian outpost of Seymchan, proximal to Stalin’s gulags.

Both the mantle and core portions of this meteorite crystallized. The unearthly mosaic in the metallic portion is referred to as a Widmanstätten pattern. This pattern—the result of the intergrowth of two iron-nickel alloys—only exists in meteorites where it can vary widely.

Pallasites are named after the 18th Century scientist Peter Pallas (1741-1811), an honor Pallas is fortunate to have received, as he never accepted that the strange boulder he had discovered originated from outer space. More recently in the 1960s, two large metallic masses found in a streambed near Seymchan were determined to be extraterrestrial. The site was revisited in 2002 by meteorite hunters who recovered several large specimens. Seymchan is an unusual transitional pallasite; the olivine and peridot appear in heterogenous zones—a pattern strikingly evident in this large format example, among the finest of its kind.

Christie's would like to thank Dr. Alan E. Rubin at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles for his assistance in preparing this catalogue note.

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Time
11 Jul 2019
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