Iron, coarse octahedrite – IAB-MG Gran Chaco, Argentina

Similar to the previous lot, Campo del Cielo meteorites were first described by Spanish explorers in 1576, nearly 6,000 years after their collision with Earth and far before their unearthly origins were understood. A Campo was the first large meteorite ever displayed at the British Museum of Natural History, and Campo del Cielo (“Valley of the Sky”) masses are today found in the finest museums in the world. Fortuitously, a previously unknown portion of the Campo strewn field (the area in which a meteorite shower is "strewn" across the Earth's surface) was discovered. Located at a higher elevation than the valley where the majority of Campos fell, the meteorites recovered from this region were less susceptible to incursions of ground water and, as a result, exhibit far better preservation—as is evidenced in the current example. All iron meteorites originate from what was the molten iron core of an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter that shattered apart billions of years ago following an impact with another asteroid. Decorative and robust, this is the quintessence of a choice Campo del Cielo meteorite.