Massive Brenham meteorite lands in Heritage's Nature & Science Auction
Brenham Meteorite. Pallasite, PMG-an. Kansas, USA - (37° 34' 57"N, 99° 9' 49"W) Found: 1882.
DALLAS, TX.—
Sometimes it’s just that simple: bigger is better.
To suggest a massive Brenham Meteorite, which will find a new home when it is sold in Heritage’s November 20 Nature & Science Signature® Auction, will make a massive impact on a new collection is only partly said as a somewhat-obvious play on words. Yes, it is an extraordinary specimen that immediately will become a centerpiece in its new collection.
Also ... this museum-quality behemoth is huge. Weighing in at about 275 pounds (125 kilograms) and measuring 55 inches (139.7 centimeters) in length.
“Pallasites are generally considered the most beautiful of all of the major varieties of meteorites, in part because of the Olivine crystals that appear within the metallic structures,” says Craig Kissick, Vice President of Nature & Science at Heritage Auctions. “However, some pallasites can occur in a strictly Iron form, known as Siderite, that are actually extremely rare and amazingly interesting, and the Brenham meteorite represented here is a perfect — and enormous — example, with a fascinating backstory.”
In September 2005, meteorite “hunters” Philip C. Mani and Steve Arnold revisited the site of the Brenham Pallasite fall in Kansas after reading reports that indicated the Brenham, which was found in 1882, strewn field could still hold meteorite treasures, if only because the area never had been thoroughly searched using modern, deep-sensing, metal detecting equipment. The search eventually yielded a record 1,433-pound pallasite October 16, 2005 that became known as the “Rediscovery Iron.” It is worth noting that less than 10 percent of all recovered Brenham Meteorites exhibit the rare Siderite form, so the example offered in this auction, which was among those found in 2005, not only is massive in size but also uncommon in form. It is presented on a custom metal armature, designed and fabricated by noted Dallas metal artist Larry Whiteley, and after residing in Mani’s collection since its discovery in 2005, it is reaching the collecting market for the first time.
Another spectacular meteorite that will be up for grabs is an Imilac Meteorite Slicethat was found in 1822 in Antofagasta, Chile and represents 1.32 kilograms (2.9 pounds) of the Imilac Pallasite. Generally considered one of the top pallasites of the variety, Imilac is a favorite of collectors. The inherently rare type — fewer than about some 200 out of more than 70,000 classified meteorites listed in the Meteoritical Bulletin — typically is lauded as the most beautiful of all varieties, clearly primarily due to the presence of “gem” crystals within the metallic structures of such meteorites. Measuring more than 16.5 inches (42 centimeters), it is covered in Olivine crystals over its otherwise mirror-like surfaces.
The Brenham and Imilac meteorites are two of 31 meteorite lots in the auction — a list that also includes but is not limited to a 9-inch, 68-pound piece of the Campo del Cielo Meteorite from Argentina, a Martian Meteorite Paired with NWA 16403, a set of three Cosmogenic Silicide Spherules from Southern Russia’s Ural Mountains and even a Partial Slice of Martian Meteorite LA001.
Dinosaur skeletons and teeth always enjoy a surge of interest from collectors, none more than the legendary Tyrannosaurus rex. The theropod widely considered the fiercest of all dinosaurs is represented in the auction through a T-rex Dinosaur Tooth that was found in Niobrara County in Wyoming. This magnificent example measures just shy of 4.5 inches (11.4 centimeters) and was found in Wyoming’s Lance Formation. It features mottled brownish coloration, a diagnostic curvature, and fine serrations along down both edges.
Dazzling in the auction’s spotlight will be a Gold Nugget from Alaska that tips the scales at 5.5 troy ounces and measuring just over 2 inches (5.21 centimeters) in length. Nearly all of the world’s Gold has been refined into things like jewelry and coins, making a nugget like this one an absolute treasure. Smoothed by natural forces, this nugget, with its muted luster and alluvial form characteristic of precious metal from Alaska, has a number of “bubbly” sections resulting in an organic shape with lots of relief to the brassy Gold off the minor dark reddish-brown stained Quartz matrix. Given the fact that a mere single troy ounce Gold nugget is as rare as a five-carat Diamond, any such specimen this large is an inherent rarity.
Each of the mosaic-tiled panels in a Fossil Fish Mosaic Triptych from Wyoming’s Green River Formation could be considered a work of art in its own right, but when presented as a trio, they define the notion that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Each panel measures 66 inches (167 centimeters) in height and weighs in at 125 pounds (57 kilograms) and is made up of square tiles that represent Limestone from the quarries from the famed Green River Formation Lagerstätte. Some feature iconic fossil fish specimens out of the prolific locality, which date to the Eocene some 50 million years ago. The abundant array of fossil fish includes a “school” of 21 examples of Knightia eocaena swimming across the middle of the three panels, when side by side, as well as five less common Priscacara liops at the top of two of the three panels. The third panel also contains a single Phareodus encaustus, which, in terms of rarity, is the star of this ancient aquatic diorama. The predatory carnivore of the Green River is not often seen in such murals, which typically are populated by more common species.
A “Gem” Ammonite in Matrix from the Bearpaw Formation in Alberta, Canada dates to the Cretaceous some 71 million years ago and exhibits superb iridescence. It is a top representation of the Placenticeras costatum variety, which accounts for less than 10 percent of the Ammonites found in the singular locality. The Bearpaw Formation has produced this clearly “gemmy” fossil which is also a gemstone consisting of unique material known as Ammolite which has been classified as such by the World Jewellery Confederation since 1981, making it the world’s only example that is both a fossil and a gemstone. This extraordinary piece weights 24 kilograms (52.8 pounds) and offers superb color and an incredible matrix in both size and shape. The vibrant fossil measures 10 inches (25 centimeters) at maximum diameter and is visually stunning with a myriad of vivid reds, oranges, golds and greens, as well as the rarer purples and blues.
Among the most eye-grabbing lots in any Nature & Science auction are gemstones, a trend demonstrated by a 2.65-carat “Sandrita” Paraíba Tourmaline from Brazil. Paraíba Tourmalines are named after the Brazilian locality in which they were first discovered in 1989. The electrifying color, created by trace amounts of Copper and Manganese, soon elevated their status to the finest Tourmalines ever found. This example hails from the Batalha Mine, Brazil, making the color rare for this locality, but presents with the iconic “Sandrita” green hue associated with the Sandrita Mine in the state of Paraíba. It has been expertly cut and faceted with modified brilliant faceting, and is clean to the naked eye and when viewed through a loupe. Once a part of the private collection of Heitor Barbosa, who discovered this variety, it later passed through the hands of Paraíba Tourmaline expert Brian Cook before ending up in a private international collection.
Other top lots in the auction include, but are not limited to:
• Crystallized Gold on Quartz from the 16 to 1 Mine in Sierra County, California
• A T-rex Dinosaur Vertebra from the Hell Creek Formation in Montana
• A 21.44-carat Tanzanite from Tanzania
• A Fossil Fish Console Table from Wyoming’s Green River Formation
• A Megalodon Shark Tooth from the Intercoastal Waterway near Savannah, Georgia
• A Manhattan Project Glass Sphere from Washington
“This is a remarkable event, a classic natural history auction,” Kissick says. “Between the fossils, meteorites, golds, gemstones and lapidary art, this auction is as widely varied as the interests of those bidders who we look forward to having join us November 20.”
