An Exceptional Gibeon Meteorite — From The Core Of An Asteroid, A Natural Sculpture From Outer Space

Older than Earth, Gibeon meteorites formed 4.5 billion years ago within the molten core of an asteroid which orbited the Sun between Jupiter and Mars. Following a collision with another asteroid, the Gibeon parent body shattered, which enabled the release of its molten metallic core. While most of the fragments of this event are dispersed in the asteroid belt, a small fraction of the fragments were deflected into an Earth-crossing orbit. Gibeon meteorites entered Earth’s atmosphere several thousand years ago and then pummeled the Kalahari Desert in Namibia.

The shape of this sculptural example is the product of numerous variables: its chemical composition, the soil chemistry where it landed, its orientation in the ground, the amount of groundwater to which it was exposed and the amount of time that passed before it was unearthed. It is delimited by multiple crests and two deep elongated scoops accented with a charcoal patina with chocolate accents and naturally poses in several orientations. This lot features a provenance from the world’s foremost collection of aesthetic iron meteorites. Hewn by monumental forces encountered in space, frictional heating as it plunged through the Earth’s atmosphere, and the weathering effects to which it was exposed on Earth’s surface — this is the quintessence of an iron meteorite.  

Provenance:

Macovich Collection, New York City