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On display

Puppy

Child's Chair
2005 (released), 2021 (manufactured)
Artist/Maker
Magis SpA (manufacturers)
Aarnio, Eero (designer)
Place of origin
Finland (designed)
Italy (manufactured)

Eero Aarnio (b.1932) aimed to see through children's eyes when designing the Puppy chair, reducing the animal to basic, rounded elements: head, body and legs. The playful result is a highly versatile chair, suitable for both play and for sitting down.

Object details

Categories
Furniture
Animals and Wildlife
Children & Childhood
Object type
Child's chair
Titles
  • Puppy (manufacturer's title)
  • Me Too (named collection)
Materials and techniques
Rotationally-moulded polyethylene
Polyethylene
Rotational Moulding
Brief description
Child's chair, Puppy Chair (large size), by Eero Aarnio for Magis, designed 2004, orange plastic
Physical description
Child's chair in the form of an abstracted dog, manufactured from orange polyethylene. It has four splayed tubular legs, a large head and an erect tail.
Dimensions
  • Height: 555mm
  • Width: 420mm
  • Depth: 695mm
Production typeMass produced
Gallery label
(01/07/2023)
Charming chairs

In a child’s imagination, anything is possible. By using animal shapes or adding a friendly face to furniture, designers invite their small users to include these objects in their play.

In Gaetano Pesce’s playful Crosby chair there’s more than one face – can you spot them both?

4 Puppy chair
Designer: Eero Aarnio, 2003, Finland
Manufacturer: Magis, 2021, Italy
Materials: Plastic
Given by Magis
Museum no. B.6-2023

5 Dodo chair
Designer: Oiva Toikka, 2009, Finland
Manufacturer: Magis, 2022, Italy
Materials: Plastic
Given by Magis
Museum no. B.8-2023

6 Crosby chair
Designer: Gaetano Pesce
Manufacturer: Fish Design
Date: 1998
Location: New York
Materials: Polyurethane resin
Gift of Bettina and Joe Gleason
Museum no. W.51-2005

7 Plywood elephant chair
Designer: Charles and Ray Eames, 1945, USA
Manufacturer: Vitra, 2007, Switzerland
Materials: Plywood
Museum no. B.257-2009

[Young V&A, Design Gallery, Design changes materials we use, group object label]
Credit line
Kindly given by Magis
Production
This product was originally released in 2005. It is available in four different sizes.
Subject depicted
Dogs
Summary
Eero Aarnio (b.1932) aimed to see through children's eyes when designing the Puppy chair, reducing the animal to basic, rounded elements: head, body and legs. The playful result is a highly versatile chair, suitable for both play and for sitting down.
Collection
Young V&A Collection
Accession number
B.6-2023

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Record createdJanuary 18, 2023
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1741693/puppy-childs-chair-aarnio-eero/
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