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L'AIGLE AUCTION IN LONDON

Greetings,

This is a follow-up to my post of April 5.

I visited Christie's in London yesterday, to examine lot #8, a 1.55 kg.
L'Aigle meteorite, which was (oddly) part of an auction of rare and
exceptional scientific instruments. The L'Aigle was the only meteorite in the
sale.

This piece is of particular interest, as it was found by the accomplished
French astronomer Jean-Baptiste Biot (1774-1862), when he visited the site of
the L'Aigle fall in Normany, France in 1803. Biot was a member of the Academie
Francaise, and a recipient of the Legion d'Honneur.  In 1806 (as a result of
his visit to the site of the fall), Biot published a paper entitled "Relation
D'Un Voyager Fait Dans Le Departement De L'Orne, Pour Constater La Realite
D'Un Meteore Observe A L'Aigle," (roughly translated as "An account of a
journey made for the Department of the Orne, to state the existence of a
meteor [sic] observed at L'Aigle"). Incidentally, "L'Aigle" is French for "The
Eagle."

According to Christie's catalogue, it was Biot's paper that "proved"
meteorites fell from the sky. Biot collected several stones himself, some of
which he gave (or sold?) to the scientist Robert Ferguson, who visited Europe
at the end of the 18th. century. Ferguson later became a member of the Royal
Society, and a Scottish Member of Parliament. This particular meteorite is
mentioned in a couple of letters written by Ferguson in 1811, copies of which
are in the possession of Christie's. As most of you will know, I'm sure,
authenticated documents such as these (which constitute a solid provenance),
can greatly increase the value of an artifact with historic significance.

So that's the history. As for the current state of affairs, the meteorite is
in marvelous condition (apart from a few chips), and as I arrived at
Christie's a TV crew had just finished doing an interview segment about it,
with the auction house's "expert." I was allowed to handle the stone, and give
it a thorough examination. I did feel like I was holding a piece of history.
It has evidently been well cared for, and displayed a very rich fusion crust,
covering 90 to 95% of the surface. One corner has a large chip missing-perhaps
where it struck the ground-and the interior appears almost identical to pieces
of Hamada du Draa that I've seen: same color, and with small rusting iron
flecks visible. It seemed large for its weight: approx 5 inches, by 4 1/2, and
3 inches thick at the base.

The estimate for the lot was 10,000 to 12,000 pounds sterling. There was a
reserve, but the amount was confidential. I telephone Christie's this
afternoon, and discovered that it had, in fact, sold for 22,000 pounds! The
buyer will have to pay 16% on top of the hammer price (buyer's premium +
insurance), and in most cases a 17 1/2% luxury tax on top of that. By my
calculations, that comes to 29,986 pounds, or (at today's exchange rate)
$49,776.

Lucky I didn't drop it.

Hope this is of interest to my fellow list members. Best wishes to all,  

Geoffrey Notkin
ammonite@aol.com
geoking@intercall.com
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