The 'Iron Man' statue
A statue carved from a meteorite, wrapped in a story that does not stand up.
Key facts
- People and tradition
- Tibetan Buddhist and Bon imagery (disputed)
- Region
- Asia
- When
- Claimed 11th century; probably 20th century
The story
In 2012 a small statue of a seated figure with a swastika on its chest, long used in Asia as a sacred symbol of good fortune, made headlines. It had been carved from a piece of iron meteorite, and stories said it was an ancient Tibetan sacred object about a thousand years old, brought to Germany by an expedition in 1938–39.
The story was appealing: a holy image made from iron fallen from heaven.
What science says
The iron is genuine meteorite: analysis showed it is from the Chinga meteorite, an iron that fell in the border region of Mongolia and Siberia, probably about 10,000 to 20,000 years ago. But specialists in Asian art later pointed out that the statue's style, clothing and details do not match genuine Tibetan or Bon art, and that it was probably made in the 20th century, possibly for the collectors' market. Its link with the 1938–39 expedition has not been proved. It is a reminder that a real meteorite can still carry an invented story.
Did you know?
Chinga is an ataxite, an iron so rich in nickel that it shows no Widmanstätten pattern.
Meteoritic iron is extremely hard to carve, which makes the statue unusual whatever its age.