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Object Timeline

1968

  • Work on this object began.

2001

2002

  • We acquired this object.

2012

2015

2018

2023

2024

  • You found it!

Pastilli Rocking Chair

This is a Rocking chair. It was designed by Eero Aarnio and manufactured by Asko Oy. It is dated 1968 and we acquired it in 2002. Its medium is molded fiberglass-reinforced polyester. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

The Pastil chair (also known as the Gyro or Rock ‘n’ Roll chair) is one of the great innovative designs in plastic furniture from the late 1960s. Designed by Eero Aarnio, the chair won an American Society of Interior Design award when it was introduced in 1968. It is made of molded plastic with a single seam running around its equator. Its rounded shape allows it to function as a rocking chair, and the plastic makes it suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. The Pastil was produced in a number of bright colors including red and deep yellow.
Aarnio, who had a design studio near Helsinki in 1963, experimented with rounded furniture forms made of rattan in the mid-1960s before moving into plastics. One of his other designs in plastic, the Globe chair (also known as the Ball or Sphere) is an icon of 1960s pop furniture.
The Pastil was manufactured by the Finnish firm Asko from 1968 to 1980, and was reissued again in 1991. The chair proposed for acquisition would complement other seminal plastic furniture designs from the 1960s in the museum’s collection, including pieces by Joe Columbo and Verner Panton.

This object was donated by The Lake St. Louis Historical Society. It is credited Gift of The Lake St. Louis Historical Society.

  • Spun Chair
  • rotationally molded polyethylene.
  • Gift of Herman Miller, Inc..
  • 2012-18-1

Our curators have highlighted 4 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:

  • Object ID #18638261
  • polyurethane foam, fabric.
  • Gift of the Estate of Frederick N. Babbish.
  • 1991-94-4
  • Up 1 Chair
  • molded polyurethane foam, stretch fabric upholstery.
  • Gift of the Estate of Frederick N. Babbish.
  • 1991-94-5

Its dimensions are

H x diam.: 52 x 92 cm (20 1/2 x 36 1/4 in.)

Cite this object as

Pastilli Rocking Chair; Designed by Eero Aarnio (Finnish, b. 1932); Manufactured by Asko Oy (Finland); Finland; molded fiberglass-reinforced polyester; H x diam.: 52 x 92 cm (20 1/2 x 36 1/4 in.); Gift of The Lake St. Louis Historical Society; 2001-31-2

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Saturated: The Allure and Science of Color.

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18693705/ |title=Pastilli Rocking Chair |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=26 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>