73/1996

Collection

Furniture

Brief description

'Modello 115' armchair made from stained beech with a rush seat, designed c.1962 by Vico Magistretti, imported by Terence Conran and retailed in Habitat c.1965-1975.

Title

Modello 115

Object name

chair
armchair

Object number

73/1996

Location

On Display

Production person

Vico Magistretti (designer)
Terence Conran (importer)

Production organisation

Habitat (retailer)

Production date

c.1962 (designed)

Production place

London (retailed)

Period

Twentieth century (1900-1999)

Material

beech
rush
stain

Technique

turned
stained
woven

Physical description

This armchair has a red stained beech frame comprising a curved top rail and arm rests, raised on turned legs, with a drop-in rush seat. The seat also has a beech frame.

Dimensions

Height: 75cm
Width: 58cm
Depth: 51.5cm

Website keywords

seating

Label

Caption for Exploring 20th Century London website:

The Modello chair received a lot of coverage in home furnishing and life-style magazines in the 1960s and 1970s. It was designed in Italy by Vico Magistretti and was first imported into Britain by Terence Conran in about 1962 when it was featured in 'Ideal Home' magazine and was available through mail order. Conran set up the groundbreaking shop Habitat, which brought interesting and inexpensive modern design to the mass market, in 1964 in premises on Fulham Road. By 1968 he had four branches in London. This particular chair was purchased from one of those shops by a London art critic for use in her family home.

Label text for the exhibition At Home with the World, Geffrye Museum (20 March 2012- 9 September 2012):

‘Modello’ chair
Stained beech frame and rush seat

This chair was designed in the early 1960s by Italian Vico Magistretti. Soon after, it was imported to England by Terence Conran who is now famous as the founder of Habitat. Conran was important for spotting interesting design and bringing it to a wide range of the British public through his shops and mail order.
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