Objet 
2 April 2025
Objet 
179

James Houston for Steuben

Excalibur paperweight and letter opener

USA, c. 1964
lead glass, sterling silver, 18k yellow gold 8 h × 5¾ w × 3⅛ d in (20 × 15 × 8 cm)
estimate: $700–900
result: $4,064
follow artist
own a similar item?
free evaluation

Incised manufacturer's mark to underside 'Steuben'. Impressed manufacturer's mark to sword 'Sterling 18KS Steuben'. 3.385 ozt. (weighable)
literature: James Houston: A Retrospective, Steuben Glass, sale catalog, pg. 18

This work will ship from Chicago, Illinois.

print

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

179