300/2001
Collection
Furniture
Brief description
'Rover' chair with a tubular steel scaffold pole frame and a reclaimed seat from a Rover 2000 car upholstered in black leather, designed by Ron Arad for One Off in London in 1981. This chair was purchased by the museum from the estate of the late Christopher Zelley-Beattie and there is a Documenting Homes collection associated with this object, 26/2009.
Title
Rover
Object name
chair
Object number
300/2001
Production person
Ron Arad (designer)
Production organisation
One Off Ltd (manufacturer)
Production date
1981 (designed)
Production place
London (designed)
England (manufactured)
England (manufactured)
Period
Twentieth century (1900-1999)
Material
leather
steel
foam
plastic
steel
foam
plastic
Technique
upholstered
assemblage
assemblage
Physical description
Chair composed of a car seat, salvaged from a Rover 2000 car and mounted on a black tubular steel scafford frame, which forms the arms and legs. The sear is upholstered with black leather, now worn and faded to pale brown, with a black plastic trim. The arms are arched steel poles painted black which are connected to each other horizontally by a pair of straight poles, which in turn have two straight poles connecting them which form the support for the seat. The joints of the scaffold frame are held together with scaffold clamps which have manufacturer's marks stamped into them. There are plastic and foam castor cups underneath the front right and back left legs, for stability. There is a manufacturer's label on the front right of the front horizontal frame pole. There is a lever for adjusting the angle of the backrest on the left of the seat.
Dimensions
Height: 79cm
Width: 69.5cm
Depth: 95cm
Width: 69.5cm
Depth: 95cm
Website keywords
furniture
seating
seating
Label
Caption for Exploring 20th Century London website:
This chair was made in London by the well-known designer Ron Arad. Arad is Israeli by birth but moved to London as a student and has lived and worked in the city ever since. In 1981 he set up his design company, 'One Off', in Chalk Farm, north London and the Rover chair was the first object he produced. It is made from reclaimed objects; the seat comes from a Rover 2000 car, which was reclaimed from a scrap yard, and the legs are formed from pieces of scaffolding.
This particular example was owned by a young advertising executive who lived in a small townhouse in Kilburn, which he had fitted out by the architect, James Lambert in the mid-1990s. The chair was used in his main living space, an open-plan room which included a dining and kitchen area and was furnished with twentieth-century design classics.
This chair was made in London by the well-known designer Ron Arad. Arad is Israeli by birth but moved to London as a student and has lived and worked in the city ever since. In 1981 he set up his design company, 'One Off', in Chalk Farm, north London and the Rover chair was the first object he produced. It is made from reclaimed objects; the seat comes from a Rover 2000 car, which was reclaimed from a scrap yard, and the legs are formed from pieces of scaffolding.
This particular example was owned by a young advertising executive who lived in a small townhouse in Kilburn, which he had fitted out by the architect, James Lambert in the mid-1990s. The chair was used in his main living space, an open-plan room which included a dining and kitchen area and was furnished with twentieth-century design classics.
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© Museum of the Home, London