Lot 5
A LARGE SLICE OF A PRIMITIVE METEORITE
FOUND NORTH WEST AFRICA, 2000s,
Ancient, African & Oceanic Art and Natural History
Auction: 08 July 2026 at 14:00 BST
Description
The present specimen is a rare carbonaceous chondrite that preserves some of the oldest known material in the Solar System. Its most remarkable features are the white calcium–aluminium-rich inclusions (CAIs) visible here, widely regarded as the first solid substances to form in the primordial Solar System. These components are effectively the first building blocks of planetary formation. Dating to approximately 4.567 billion years ago, their age is used as the reference “time zero” for Solar System formation.
The present example therefore represents a direct physical link to both the earliest stages of Solar System formation and the even older stellar processes that preceded it; an exceptionally rare record of deep cosmic time preserved in stone.
Dimensions
59.15g, 20.9cm diameter
Provenance
Lucy Cullen, United Kingdom
The Robert Elliot Meteorite Collection, United Kingdom, acquired from the above