Rare aesthetic meteorite sells for nearly $100,000 U.S.

Rare aesthetic meteorite sells for nearly US$100,000 at U.S. auction

NEW YORK (AP) - A meteorite believed to have come from an asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter sold for $93,000 US Tuesday at an auction of rare space sculptures.

The 160-kilogram chunk of iron, thousands of years old and discovered in the Campo del Cielo crater field in Argentina, was one of 10 meteorites that went for astronomic prices at a Bonhams' New York natural history auction.

The pristine meteorite, known as Valley of the Sky, was purchased by a private collector in the United States who bid by phone and plans to display it as a work of art, said Thomas Lindgren, acting director of the natural history division for the Bonhams auction house.

"This is art, not from man, but from outer space," Lindgren said. The auction house had expected it to sell for between $40,000 and $50,000.

"He was absolutely ecstatic," Lindgren said of the buyer. "There was no way he was going to walk away without it."

The second highest price for a meteorite at the auction was for one with naturally occurring glittering gemstones which sold for $11,950, well above its estimate of $3,200.

The high bids reflect the soaring interest in meteorites not just for their scientific value but also their natural beauty. Lindgren said the bids for the space rocks come mainly from private art collectors and interior home designers.

"They have found their place in the art marketplace," Lindgren said.

The meteorites came from the Macovich Collection, considered the finest collection of aesthetic meteorites in the world. Most sold above their estimated pre-auction value.

A two-gram piece of the Moon sold for $4,250, and a space rock with an unique naturally formed hole that was found in Africa went for $42,000, nearly twice the pre-sale estimate.

The prices of the meteorites include the purchase price plus a 19.5 per cent purchaser's premium paid to the auction house.

Darryl Pitt, primary owner and curator of the Macovich Collection, said he was delighted with the tremendous response to the sale.

"These are matchless sculptures from outer space," Pitt said. "The high values being afforded these exquisite specimens show they have penetrated the art market."