Yanagi's Butterfly Stool: the West folded the Japanese way
Two sheets of plywood, one brass rod, 1954. How Sori Yanagi reconciled Japanese craft with industrial production.
A stool that resembles a butterfly, a torii, an ideogram. Sori Yanagi's Butterfly Stool (1954) is one of the objects that proved industry could produce poetry.
Two sheets, one rod
Two moulded plywood shells, identical, joined by a single brass rod. A Japanese economy of means married to the Western moulding technique (that of the Eameses).
A bridge between two worlds
Yanagi, son of the theorist of the Mingei movement (folk craft), sought the beauty born of use. The Butterfly is his answer: neither folklore nor cold machine — both at once.
Recognising it
Produced by Vitra and Tendo Mokko: markings beneath the seat, quality of the veneer (rosewood, maple), a clean brass junction. Copies betray a coarse plywood.
Seen one somewhere? Scan it on Beyit: original or copy.
Les objets, à ton budget.
Chaque pièce citée, avec ses alternatives — du vintage au dupe.
Gallery · 4 images.
