[meteorite-list] Ensisheim TKW provenance

From: Zelimir Gabelica <Z.Gabelica_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:06:18 2004
Message-ID: <1.5.4.32.20021128224137.00758354_at_pop.univ-mulhouse.fr>

Hello Harlan, Anne, List,

Let me shortly introduce myself before trying to answer a few of these
crucuial questions about Ensisheim TKW and its availablity on the web.

I am a relatively new list member, keen collector and lover of all kind of
meteorites and tektites and incidently the scientific responsible and
organizer of the Ensisheim Meteorite Show that started in 2000 and of which
the fourth edition is scheduled for the next June 20-22, 2003 (I will soon
provide more detailed info to the list). This is the first time I write you
but Harlan's questions are of concern to many of us and I feel I can add
some personal thoughts or even statements to help clearing ideas.
=20
We, at the Brotherhood of the Ensisheim Meteorite Guardians, not only do
have the main mass or the Ensisheim meteorite in the Regency Palace museum,
but also possess many old, sometimes very local (unpublished) manucripts
(originals and copies) or tales from elder Ensisheim inhabitants, reporting
on the historical survival and anecdotic wandering of the meteorite since it
fell 510 years ago.

The usually reported total weight, as found in the current literature (BM
Catalog, Meteorites from A to Z, etc...) is supposed to be 127 kg. Nothing
is sure about that value though. Some manuscripts (e.g. that of Rev. Merklen
S.J., priest and Mayor of Ensisheim in the 1840's, and others) state that
the initial weight of the meteorite is "about the triple" of the actual
weight "today" preserved. This latter was also said (Merklen's archives) to
be 110.25 "pounds" (French "livres" at that period), which "could correspond
to about 55 Kg" (which gives an idea of the former "livre" to Kg ratio,
without precising whether the "livre" would actually correspond to the
present UK (or US or...) pound). The initial weight was also stated to be
260 "livres", which, taking into account the above ratio, is not far from
the official 127 kg as TKW. Note that 127 is far from being the triple of=
 55.

3 years ago, we wanted to know the exact weight of the Ensisheim meteorite
preserved in the Regency Palace that has actually never been weighed before,
only qualitatively evaluated or thought to be "about 55 kg" as written in
the old manuscripts or prints.=20
This was done formally in the presence of officials and witnesses using a
special balance able to read high weights with a 1 gram accuracy. We were a
little disappointed to read.... 53.831 kg, but happy to report officially
the total mass of this world heritage (at least in the local newspapers,
although we are now being preparing an article for "Meteorite" as well).

Harlan's concerns came just a little early as I was just about to write
(still in "Meteorite") a "call for the total mass of Ensisheim meteorite
samples preserved in private and public collections".=20
Indeed, we just feel, oppositely to Harlan's assumptions, that the
difference between the initial mass (127 kg) and the present main mass
(53.831 kg) does not represent the total weight of all the meteorites
officially preserved elsewhere. In our own publication listing the main
owners of the Ensisheim meteorite fragments, if we compile their total
weight, we realize that a substantial amount is still MISSING, hence my=
 "call".

Now, Harlan's remark is very interesting anyway.
 It is obvious that, in one part, many fragments were lost here and there
during a perturbed 400-500 year period of time (many anecdots exist about
"gifts" and even "true wages" offered as "pieces of 1 gram (or so) of
Ensisheim meteorite fragments" as payments to various people for services -
but this is another story too long to develop here) and, on the other hand,
many other fragments or slices appeared on the market recently (say since
the last decade), with the collection of meteorites becoming so popular.

Tha main question is now: what is this difference representing ? A bonus or
a malus, with respect to the weight gap ? In other words, is Harlan right
when saying that there is too much of Ensisheim on the market by now ? I
can't exclude this possibility but the only way to get closer to the truth
is to ask formally everybody (every collector, dealer, museum...) to report
the actual weight of Ensisheim owned. What a task!
 If everybody is willing to tell an as accurate and true answer as possible
and if we assume that all of us would "play this game fairly", we could get
closer to the real weight circulating in the web or remaining in
repositories and at least see if we are below 127 kg or perhaps above. If
so, fraud should obviously be invoked at some stages, as suspected by=
 Harlan.

With this letter, the question is now open and everybody is welcome to
provide me (or us) the amount of Ensisheim presently held in his collection.
The quest will be reformulated more openly soon in my future article.

I can also provide List with the official amounts of the meteorite supposed
to be held in different institutions (our archives deal with relatively old
data end numbers and anyhow pretty much fit the values such as reported in
e.g. Met Base).

I wish to start myself, by reporting that I purchased a full (?) 15.82 g
slice of Ensisheim from Alain Carion a few years ago, with his certificate.
Alain is by no doubt very relieble for his sources but did not or forgot to
tell me where this slice came from.=20
But today, I am very happy to learn from Anne that probably this slice could
stem from the Boubee collection Alain purchased. An interesting question
would be (Alain ?) how much of Ensisheim was in that collection initially.
This would be only a meaningful indication as probably no one can tell how
much of this was further sold and perhaps fragmented by the different buyers
and dispatched here and there or offered for sale on the web. Hope we could
one day get closer to an assemblage of this huge puzzle!

Incidently, I would be indebted to Anne if she could provide me with a
photo-copy of the Boubee original labe,l once Alain would confirm that my
slice comes from that source, as I now suspect.

Sorry for being long. All the best to all and special thoughts to my US
friends for Tahnksgiving.

Zelimir
--------------

Harlan Tramell wrote:

there seems to be W-A-A-A-Y to much ensisheim out there for sale on websites
based on the tkw AND the amount that actually got pilfered off the thing
shortly after arrival (which had to be actually curated and held on to for
508 years if my math is correct, for you to get your lovely little micro
from a website w/ paypal). ever see "the red violin"? well, the same kinda
thing would have to happen for you to get your slice IF your slice is
infact, true ensisheim and not some other skyrock that looks like it
visually and geochemically. why would peasant- class people even consider
preserving a skyock? what are the odds of it making it all the way to
websites from 1492? a legit purchase of this rock would demand EXCELLENT
provenance. would some please elaborate on this provenance established and
how these cute little slices of an otherwise ordinary chondrite make it to
websites, shows, and ultimately into livingrooms via a VERY phat rid!
----------
Anne Black wrote:

I have a few pieces of Ensisheim, one of them is on my site right now.=20
Alain Carion bought them many years ago when the Collection Boubee was sold=
=20
after the death of its last owner. The Collection Boubee had been started=20
around the year 1850.=20
I can supply you with a photo-copy of the original label if you would like.=
=20
I sell Ensishim at $250/gram, I don't think this is excessive considering=
 the=20
historical value of this meteorite.=20
-------------
******************************************************
Prof. Zelimir Gabelica
Groupe S=E9curit=E9 et Ecologie Chimiques (GSEC) - ENSCMu
3, rue A. Werner
F-68093 MULHOUSE Cedex, FRANCE
Tel: +33 (0)3 89 33 68 94
FAX: +33 (0)3 89 33 68 15
e-Mail: Z.Gabelica_at_uha.fr
******************************************************
Received on Thu 28 Nov 2002 05:41:37 PM PST