manifestations of the country's denotative multitude of lakes – white ice in the winter and a blue mirror in the summer. Nordic art specialists often compared Sarpaneva's ability to capture light along with its hues to looking through ice beneath the sea. Smile Glass was also the material of his rare work that addressed trans-Atlantic cultural influences. The small, black blown-glass piece Smile with a glossy finish features two large Disneyesque ears rising above a mouth and refers to Mickey Mouse. The ears signify Mickey's state of being, while the sculpture transforms Mickey into a set of abstract geometric relationships. Recognition Awards 1951 Silver Medal, for Kukko ("Rooster"), IX Triennale, Milan 1954 Grand Prix, glass, X Triennale, Milan 1957 Grand Prix, for exhibition architecture, XI Triennale, Milan 1957 Grand Prix, glass, XI Triennale, Milan 1956 Lunning Prize 1976 Gold Medal, for Suomi, Concorso Internazionale della Ceramica d'Arte Contemporanea, Faenza Honorifics 1958 Pro Finlandia Medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland 1963 Honorary Royal Designer for Industry, Royal Society of Arts, London 1967 Honorary Doctor, Royal College of Art, London 1985 Academico de Honor Extranjero ("Professor Honoris Causa"), Academia de Diseño, Instituto de Cultura de la Ciudad de México 1993 Honorary Doctor, School of Art and Design, Aalto University, Helsinki Market Sarpaneva's artistically conceived design lines gained in resale value to the degree that forgeries became profitable. The Finnish police estimated the total value of the forgeries of his and some of his peers' designs reached millions of euros and expected it to grow. Occasional, partly tongue-in-cheek, criticism of some of the designs – that the versatile teak handle with the cast-iron pot would get lost, that white Suomi showed tea stains unlike classic British brown tea pots – did not undermine their appreciation. Historically, Christie's executives commented on growth in resale value especially with Sarpaneva's glass creations for the Italian Venini company. Older objects from the same series would be more valuable, for instance, an item from the first year of the Kajakki (Kayak) series, which ran from 1953 to 1959, might fetch 50% more than the same object from the last year of production. Bargain hunters occasionally reported high returns, including the purchase of a Sarpaneva glass plate for 25 cents in a garage sale, which turned out to have a resale value of US$1,000. References External links Timo Sarpaneva at scandinaviandesign.com Timo Sarpaneva at thisisFINLAND Glass