Objet 
2 April 2025
Objet 
145

James Houston for Steuben

Ice Bear

USA, c. 1970
lead glass, rhodium-plated sterling silver 5⅜ h × 5 w × 4¾ d in (14 × 13 × 12 cm)
estimate: $1,000–1,500
result: $3,696
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Incised manufacturer's mark to underside 'Steuben' with impressed mark to right hind leg of bear 'Ster S'.
provenance: Thomas S. Monaghan, Domino's Private Collection
literature: James Houston: A Retrospective, Steuben Glass, sale catalog, pg. 23

This work will ship from Chicago, Illinois.

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Captured in Crystal

Canadian artist, designer, author, and filmmaker James Houston worked for Steuben from 1962 until his death in 2005 and was the first designer to be honored by Steuben with a major retrospective exhibition in 1992. Houston's designs were heavily influenced by the fourteen years he spent in the Eastern Arctic, where he lived and worked alongside the Inuit people. 

Glass has its own life. Sometimes its qualities can show you things you've never seen or imagined, and at other times it'll completely ruin you...The Eskimos really prepared me for this. They taught me never to worry and to have a lot of patience.

James Houston

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