Fellow Collectors,
Hope you are all well.
Available today is a true rarity, a 0.97g specimen of the Duruma meteorite, a
witnessed fall from 1853 in Kenya. It fell not far from a few boys of the
Duruma tribe, and was subsequently worshipped within their culture, resting on
an alter for years after.
In 1856 the Duruma tribe was largely slaughtered by the neighboring Masaii
tribe. Understandably, they lost faith in the meteorite's ability to benefit
them. It was subsequently sold to German missionaries in the area and
transported to Munich. It was cut, and the main mass was on display at the
Munich museum in 1942 when the British bombed the area, destroying the museum
and the main mass with it. Roughly 50g of Duruma are documented in
institutional collections.
I know of only one other private collector who has a specimen of Duruma. That
specimen, and this one, both have an origin point from Australian merchant Bob
Walker (who died in the 1990's) and received it via an institutional trade.
That specimen was subsequently acquired by Russ Kempton, and was cut into two
specimens. One was sold to John Schooler decades ago, who later sold his
specimen to me when he retired from collecting. I have since acquired this
remaining 0.97g specimen from Russ, and sold John Schooler's specimen to
another private collector.
This specimen is thought of by some as the Holy Grail of worshipped meteorites.
It will come with provenance from Russ Kempton as well as myself. I have
visually paired it with the two specimens in the Vienna museum.
See photos at the following links:
https://ibb.co/5KvfsL6
https://ibb.co/d50gS3Q
https://ibb.co/Sf8qb2s
https://ibb.co/Lvq6sh2
Please contact me privately for additional details.
Cheers!
John A. Shea, MD
IMCA 3295
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