Butterfly Stool Miniature

As a student in the 1940s, Sori Yanagi accompanied Charlotte Perriand on trips to Japan and thus became familiar with classical Moderns.

It is possible that this is what aroused Yanagi’s interest in sitting, which is not part of Japanese culture. Even today, many Japanese homes manage without any seats, even in the cities, as it is traditional to sit on the floor on tatami cushions.

The designer adopts a familiar Western shape and combines it with a technique used by Charles and Ray Eames, which involves using bent plywood for industrial production. The stool is unusually cleverly constructed with two identical shapes connected axisymmetrically via two screws under the seat and a screwed brass rod. This creates a shape reminiscent in some ways of the torii (doors) of Shinto shrines, which gives the stool an oriental look. It also evokes the wings of a butterfly, hence the name. The stool was awarded a gold medal at the 1957 Milan Triennale.

Scale : 1:6

Dimensions (cm):

Height: 13.5 cm x Width: 25 cm x Depth: 14 cm