Two glossy, red plastic chairs. The backs are curved and appear just under a foot in height. It connects without disconnect to the back legs. A rectangle, about the size of a palm, is cut into where the back curves into the seat. The seat is flat and has two symmetric notches carved into the sides. The front of the seat curves down smoothly to the front legs. The legs are flat on the sides and curve at the bottom where they meet the ground. Small silver pieces that appear like screws are at the tips of the legs. The two chairs are positioned pointing to our left, one just behind the other.

There are 4 other images of this object. See our image rights statement.

See more objects with the tag furniture, seating, brightly colored, chairs, red plastic, molded, monochromatic.

See more objects with the color silver darkgrey firebrick maroon grey or see all the colors for this object.

Object Timeline

-0001	We photographed this object.
1967	Work on this object began.
1986	We acquired this object.
2001	We photographed this object. We photographed this object.
2015	We photographed this object.
2017	We photographed this object.
2018	We exhibited this object.
2024	You found it!

4860 Side Chair

This is a side chair. It was designed by Joe Colombo and manufactured by Kartell S.p.A, Milan. It is dated 1967 and we acquired it in 1986. Its medium is injection-molded abs plastic, rubber. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

During the 1960s, a time of rapid changes in technology and the invention of new materials, many designers began looking to the future to imagine new aesthetic possibilities. Joe Colombo (born Cesare Colombo), an Italian industrial designer, created the 4860 side chair for furniture manufacturer Kartell in 1965 with a such a mindset. Milan-based Kartell commissioned Colombo to make this futuristic-looking stackable chair, inspired by an emerging interest in space travel and science fiction, and Colombo’s commitment to experimenting with the new plastics. Designed as one continuous piece with no extraneous parts, the plastic chair was fabricated using a mold. The hole in the center of the form was necessary for its removal from the mold after the pliable hot material was poured and had cooled. The opening also functions as a handle in the finished product. The chair was produced under the art direction of the company’s founder Anna Castelli-Ferrieri — one of the first women to graduate from the Milan Polytechnic Institute.

This object was donated by Dr. Herbert Appel. It is credited Gift of Dr. Herbert Appel.

Chair, from Copper series
nanocrystalline copper.
Courtesy of Max Lamb.
43.2015.1

Chair, from Scrap Poly Pastel series
polystyrene, polyurethane rubber.
Courtesy of Max Lamb.
43.2015.2

Cone Chair
cast steel, foam rubber, wool upholstery.
Gift of Barry Friedman and Patricia Pastor.
1986-99-44

Our curators have highlighted 2 objects that are related to this one.

RAR Rocking Chair
molded fiberglass-reinforced polyester, bent metal rods, wood, rubber.
Gift of Barry Friedman and Patricia Pastor.
1986-99-46

Terna Chair
steel, enamel, rubber, plastic.
1986-96-1-a,b

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 72 × 43.3 × 43 cm (28 3/8 × 17 1/16 × 16 15/16 in.)

Cite this object as

4860 Side Chair; Designed by Joe Colombo (Italian, 1930 – 1971); Manufactured by Kartell S.p.A, Milan (Italy); Italy; injection-molded abs plastic, rubber; H x W x D: 72 × 43.3 × 43 cm (28 3/8 × 17 1/16 × 16 15/16 in.); Gift of Dr. Herbert Appel; 1986-115-1

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

The Conservation department has taken one photo of this object.

Short URL http://cprhw.tt/o/2EorR/
Accession Number 1986-115-1
Object ID 18806259