Kone table
(1948)
Medium
plywood, steel, rubber, brass
Measurements
(48.0 × 85.0 × 52.5 cm)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Stephen Lawrence Browne, 2024
Gallery location
Gallery 12
Level 2, NGV Australia
About this work
Kone chair and Kone table are made from aircraft-grade plywood used in the production of the de Havilland Mosquito plane in Sydney during the Second World War. Roger McLay was prompted to use this material because, unlike many other raw materials, it was available in large quantities in the postwar years. Knowing that international furniture designers were using plywood, especially Charles and Ray Eames in the United States, might also have played a part. However, rather than moulding the plywood to create organic forms as they did, McLay simply bent pre-cut plywood sheets, joining them with glue and brass screws before attaching to a painted steel base.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Sydney, New South Wales
Accession Number
2024.208
Department
Australian Decorative Arts