Steuler 161-40, “Facette” decor, 40cm

Cari Zalloni, the Austrian designer of this decor, had quite the career path. Intending to pursue a chemistry degree in college, he instead transitioned to design. Degree in hand, he first moved to Italy to design furniture, then Germany to design glass before finally moving on to create ceramics at Steuler Keramik from 1962 to 1976. The three lines he designed — Facette, Continua, and Zyklon — represented the heights of Steuler’s artistic expression and still look very fresh today. The vase pictured here appears to be the largest of the Facette line, which also included 158-20 (w/three layers) and 159-25 (w/five layers); the design was also used to make lamps in varying sizes. Surfaces for the most part were smooth; the rough white glaze here is a rare exception and may have represented an experiment. Colors were wide ranging, suggesting the line appealed to many buyers (based upon the level of demand and pricing for the lamps and vases today, it appears the appeal is still quite strong). After Steuler, Zalloni went on to found Cazal Eyewear, the company which made the “it” hip hop glasses of the 80s (e.g., the sunglasses famously worn by Run-DMC artist Darryl “DMC” McDaniels). Like his work for Steuler, Zalloni’s eyeglass designs were of their time while futuristic — timeless art which stands a very good chance of surviving to the coming mid-century.