Description

Yanagi's Butterfly stool can be described as unusual on a number of counts. The designer adopts a familiar Western shape and combines it with a technique employed by Charles and Ray Eames which involves using bent plywood for industrial manufacture. The stool is unusually cleverly constructed, with two identical shapes connected axisymmetrically by means of two screws underneath the seat and a screwed on brass rod. This creates a shape reminiscent in some ways of the torii (gates) to Shinto shrines, which gives the stool an oriental look. At the same time it calls to mind the wings of a butterfly, hence its name. The stool was awarded the gold medal at the 1957 Milan triennial.

Details

Material Description:

• Scale:  1:6, 57 x 69 x 79 mm
• Material:  Bent Plywood, Brass
  

Designer

Sori Yanagi

Sori Yanagi’s organic forms combine western industrial designs with Japan’s native artisanal traditions. This successful synthesis made Sori Yanagi one of the most significant Japanese designers of the post-war era. In addition to furniture, he also designed lighting, glass objects, cutlery, metro stations, cars and much more.