Objet 
2 April 2025
Objet 
162

James Houston for Steuben

National Geographic Society Centennial Award trophy

USA, 1988
acid-etched lead glass, silver, painted wood 11⅜ h × 3⅝ w × 3⅝ d in (29 × 9 × 9 cm)
estimate: $1,000–1,500
result: $2,112
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Trophy features an illuminated base. Engraved to base '1888-1988 National Geographic Society Centennial Award Kenan T. Erim Washington, DC November 17, 1988'. Sold with original presentation box.
provenance: Kenan T. Erim (1929-1990), Turkish archaeologist | Private Collection
literature: Steuben Catalogue, manufacturer's catalog, pg. 114

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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