GIBEON - EXTRATERRESTRIAL SCULPTURE FROM OUTER SPACE
Iron, fine octahedrite
Gibeon, Great Nama Land, Namibia

Recovered by indigenous tribesmen, this iron meteorite was found at the edge of the Kalahari Desert in Namibia.  Like all iron meteorites, it originated in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter where it was deflected into an Earth-intersecting orbit. The unusual shape of this sculptural specimen is in part due to terrestrialization (exposure to Earth's elements over thousands of years).  In what was previously a shallow depression, water had to have collected to create the dramatic hollow in the center of this specimen. This smooth concavity is in a stark yet artful contrast to the animated ridges and scoops that surround it--a character more consistent with an archetypal Gibeon meteorites. The seemingly flattened edges seen here are where this meteorite split along crystalline planes. Both elegant and abstract, and accentuated by a muted earth-tone patina, this singular extraterrestrial form is accompanied by a custom armature.

311 x 335 x 157 mm (12.25 x 13.25 x 6 inches) and 37.58 kilograms (83 pounds).

$17,000