The Butterfly Stool: When Two Worlds Meet

Created in 1956 by Sori Yanagi, an emblematic figure in Japanese industrial design, the stool is made from two identical curved pieces. In it, you can see the specific characteristics of Japanese art: it’s refined, simple and unembellished. The shape of the stool also recalls Japanese ideograms.

However, this stool and the techniques used to make it are actually closer to western aesthetics and culture. Firstly, Japanese people weren’t accustomed to sitting on high chairs at the time when it was created, and secondly, the technique used, that of moulded plywood, was popular with western designers. Yanagi was heavily influenced by artists like the French creator Charlotte Perriand, of whom he was a close friend. It’s a happy marriage of craftsmanship and modernity.