MUONIONALUSTA METEORITE — PRIMITIVE AND ABSTRACT, A MATCHLESS NATURAL SCULPTURE FROM OUTER SPACE
Iron, fine octahedrite
Kiruna, Sweden

This nickel-iron meteorite was found north of the Arctic Circle in Sweden. It is exceedingly unusual for a meteorite to evoke an abstract Brancusi sculpture — and this specimen, among the more aesthetic smoothly-shaped meteorites known, is one such exception. Its character is the result of terrestrialization (the oxidizing of a meteorite when exposed to elements). More specifically, Muonionalusta meteorites are believed to be glacial erratics (material transported by a glacier) and their exposure to churning ice and the arctic elements for thousands of years is responsible for the smooth surface in evidence—in effect, the edges were softened in one of Earth’s largest rock tumblers.

This unusual example also features an exotic natural patina ranging from saffron to tangerine to pumpkin. Originating from the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars, this is a select extraterrestrial objet d'art from the Macovich Collection — the world's preeminent collection of aesthetic iron meteorites.

277 x 211 x 109mm (11 x 8.5 x 4.25 inches) and 16.1 kilograms (35.4 pounds)

$17,500