The Heart of Space meteorite.
The Heart of Space, an iconic iron meteorite in the shape of a heart, will highlight Christie’s fifth annual online auction of meteorites. It will run from February 6 to 14. The Heart of Space originates from one of the biggest meteorite showers of the last several thousand years, which occurred in Siberia on February 12, 1947.
The shockwaves from the explosion collapsed chimneys, shattered windows and uprooted trees; sonic booms were heard nearly 200 miles away and eyewitnesses thought the world was ending. Among the meteorites to land on Earth that day was a natural sculptural form from outer space in the shape of a heart. It’s the result of unlikely yet fortuitous cleavage along its crystalline planes as it burned through Earth’s atmosphere — a fiery plunge that thumb-printed the surface and evokes the texture of a Giacometti. It is estimated at $300,000 – $500,000. There are 45 lots in the sale.