Lot 72
Gibeon
The Robert Elliott Meteorite Collection Part III
Auction: 20 August 2013 at 15:00 BST
Description
etched part slice
Dimensions
50.7g
Footnote
Provenance: ex-Nancy Sumner Collection
Gibeon (Namibian Desert, Africa) IVA (iron) - found 1836
The Gibeon meteorite was first reported by Captain J.E. Alexander in 1836. He heard of large masses of native iron on the east side of the Great Fish River and was able to obtain samples for analysis.
Europeans later established cattle ranches in the area and many more large iron meteorites were recognised and recovered.
When cut, polished and etched with acid, Gibeon reveals a beautiful and unique pattern called Widmanstatten figures - a crystal structure formed by nickel-rich and nickel-poor metallic bands as a result of an extremely low rate of cooling over millions of years. This Widmanstatten structure is absolute proof of a meteoric origin for many iron meteorites, as it is not something that can be copied or forged in a lifetime.