Lot 2369
Large Muonionalusta Meteorite Carving of a Gorilla
7 December 2021, 10:00 PST
Los AngelesSold for US$8,160 inc. premium
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Large Muonionalusta Meteorite Carving of a Gorilla
Iron-Nickel, Fine Octahedrite, Type IVA
Kiruna, Sweden
Possibly the oldest meteorite known to man, Muonionalusta impacted a site west of the border between Sweden and Finland, north of the Arctic Circle, approximately one million years ago. Lappland, the traditional home of the Sami people, is a remote pine forested land with large herds of reindeer, rivers and lakes, carved out by gigantic glaciers which covered this region as late as 11,000 years ago. In 1906, the first Muonionalusta meteorite was discovered by a child who, while kicking rocks, struck a heavy, rusty object, which was later identified as meteoritic. The present carving is unique in the world and was executed by a Russian lapidary. Approximately 1/3 of the meteorite is carved to depict the face and forehead of the gorilla with the remaining 2/3 left in the original state showing a geometric crystallization. Weighing approximately 2052.6 grams and measuring 4 3/8 x 2 3/4 x 2 3/4 in
Kiruna, Sweden
Possibly the oldest meteorite known to man, Muonionalusta impacted a site west of the border between Sweden and Finland, north of the Arctic Circle, approximately one million years ago. Lappland, the traditional home of the Sami people, is a remote pine forested land with large herds of reindeer, rivers and lakes, carved out by gigantic glaciers which covered this region as late as 11,000 years ago. In 1906, the first Muonionalusta meteorite was discovered by a child who, while kicking rocks, struck a heavy, rusty object, which was later identified as meteoritic. The present carving is unique in the world and was executed by a Russian lapidary. Approximately 1/3 of the meteorite is carved to depict the face and forehead of the gorilla with the remaining 2/3 left in the original state showing a geometric crystallization. Weighing approximately 2052.6 grams and measuring 4 3/8 x 2 3/4 x 2 3/4 in
