
Sori Yanagi Butterfly Stool
View Similar Items
- Want more images or videos?Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 6
Sori Yanagi Butterfly Stool
$3,600Asking Price

About
Details
- CreatorSori Yanagi (Designer),Tendo Mokko (Manufacturer)
- Design
- DimensionsHeight: 12 in. (30.48 cm)Width: 15.25 in. (38.74 cm)Depth: 16.5 in. (41.91 cm)
- StyleModern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques
- Place of Origin
- Period1980-1989
- Date of Manufacture1987
- ConditionWear consistent with age and use.
- Seller LocationLos Angeles, CA
- Reference Number1stDibs: LU794828804642
About the Design
Butterfly Stool
Designed by Sori Yanagi
Consisting of two gracefully curving and identical molded plywood shells that recall butterfly wings and are fastened together by a single brass crossbar, the Butterfly stool by Sori Yanagi (1915–2011) is the most acute mid-century merging of Eastern and Western sensibilities. When he introduced the structured chair to a market that had until then been defined by tatami mats, Yanagi upended Japanese tradition. But the Tokyo-born furniture designer, who created the all-plastic Elephant stool during the same year in 1954, demonstrated reverence for the past with his piece, too: The chair’s two inverted, L-shaped plywood components, constructed by molding methods made popular by forward-looking American designers Charles and Ray Eames, have been compared to calligraphic forms and resemble the regal, spare torii gates that serve as entrances to Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, bringing together the sacred and mundane worlds.The son of Soetsu Yanagi — the founder of Mingei, the Japanese folk art movement — Sori studied painting and architecture, and later worked for French architect-designer Charlotte Perriand when she was appointed an arts and crafts advisor to the Japanese Board of Trade in 1940. Yanagi became her travel companion in Japan, learning about European modernism and French design, and eventually switched his focus from architecture to design. As a product designer, he was immensely prolific and worked steadily until his death in 2011. Yanagi’s wide range of items, from Sony’s early “H Type” tape recorder (1951) to children’s toys to pedestrian bridges to a best-selling stainless-steel teakettle, more than half a million of which are sold yearly in Japan, defined postwar Japanese society. His products are both practical and distinctly modern, and are characterized by an affinity for both new shapes and simple, functional forms. As a designer, Yanagi’s modernist focus on efficiency and structure yielded a legacy of creative pieces that not only struck a nerve in Japan, but defined its postwar society as well.The Butterfly stool, an early-career design first manufactured by Tendo Mokko, has remained in production since the 1950s — it’s currently available from Vitra in maple and rosewood. Soon after it debuted, the stool won the Gold Medal at the Milan Triennale of 1957 and later entered the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and elsewhere. Simple and sculptural, the Butterfly stool is Yanagi’s most celebrated and well-received piece of furniture.
About the Seller
4.3
Recognized Seller
These prestigious sellers are industry leaders and represent the highest echelon for item quality and design.
Established in 1975
1stDibs seller since 2004
85 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 16 hours
Associations
20th Century Specialists
More From This Seller
View All
Tokikichi Kato Ring Stool
By Tendo Mokko
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Tokukichi Kato Ring Stool Tendo Nokko, 1955.
Category
Vintage 1950s Japanese Stools
Price Upon Request
Vittorio Livi Onda Incisa Stool
By FIAM, Vittorio Livi
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vittorio Livi established FIAM Italia in 1973. It was the first company to be able to produce curved glass furniture. In being able to do so, the company had attracted internationall...
Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Footstools
Materials
Glass, Plastic
Alexander Begge Casalino Stacking Stool
By Alexander Begge, Casala
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Alexander Begge is a German designer born in 1941. He designed only one line of furniture named Casalino. The Casalino is a timeless and iconic piece from the 1970s.
After studyi...
Category
Vintage 1970s Danish Modern Stools
Materials
Plastic
$1,350 / item
Castiglione Sella Stool
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Stool made from a black bicycle seat w/a lacquered steel column & cast iron base
Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Stools
Materials
Iron, Steel
Price Upon Request
Grete Jalk Stool
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Adjustable teak stool w/distressed black leather upholstered seat
Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Stools
Materials
Wood, Leather
Price Upon Request
Ashanti Prestige Stool
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Attribution Unknown: Ashanti Prestige Stool from the 19th – 20th centuries. Its form exemplifies the "classical" stool used as an icon of leadership throughout the Ghanian region: a ...
Category
Antique Late 19th Century Ghanaian Footstools
Materials
Wood
$2,400
Tendo Mokko Ring Stool
By Tokukichi Kato
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Tokukichi Kato for Tendo Mokko Ring stool, Japan, 1955.
Category
Vintage 1950s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Stools
Materials
Leather, Beech
$3,500
Isamu Noguchi Rocking Stool
By Isamu Noguchi
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Rocking stool designed by Isamu Noguchi, manufactured by Knoll Inc. in 1955.
Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Stools
Materials
Chrome, Stainless Steel
Price Upon Request
You May Also Like
Pair of Sori Yanagi Butterfly Stools
By Sori Yanagi, Tendo Mokko
Located in Riverdale, NY
Pair of period Sori Yanagi butterfly stools sold in original condition. Molded plywood with veener.
Structurally sound, with some discoloration and later varnishing,
1950s, Japan.
Category
Vintage 1950s Japanese Modern Stools
Materials
Wood
$6,750 / set
Sori Yanagi Butterfly Stool
By Sori Yanagi
Located in San Francisco, CA
A Sori Yanagi butterfly stool for Tendo in bent rosewood and brass.
Literature: Design since 1945, Hiesinger, pg. 137.
Category
Vintage 1950s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Stools
Materials
Rosewood
Butterfly Stool by Sori Yanagi
By Sori Yanagi
Located in Paris, FR
A butterfly stool, model "S-0521/M", by Sori Yanagi, in wood and patinated brass, manufactured by Tendo Mokko, Japan, with the old editor’s label, model designed in 1954.
Category
Vintage 1950s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Stools
Materials
Brass
Sori Yanagi, Early Production "Butterfly" Stools Walnut, Brass, Tendo Mokko 1954
By Sori Yanagi, Tendo Mokko
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A set of rare and early organic "Butterfly" stools, designed in 1954 by Sori Yanagi. Produced by Tendo Mokko, Japan. Priced and sold individually.
Other designers of the period incl...
Category
Vintage 1950s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Stools
Materials
Brass
Sori Yanagi, "Elephant" Stool, Fiberglass, Japan, 1954
By Sori Yanagi, Tendo Mokko
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A black plexiglass "Elephant" stool, designed by Sori Yanagi and produced by Kotobuki Seating Company, Tokyo, Japan, 1954.
Category
Vintage 1950s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Stools
Materials
Fiberglass
Rosewood Butterfly Stool by Japanese Designer Sori Yanagi
By Sori Yanagi
Located in Dronten, NL
A perfect fusion of western function and eastern or Asian sensibility, the iconic butterfly stool was originally conceived in 1954 by Japanese designer Sori Yanagi. The stool is made...
Category
Mid-20th Century Japanese Mid-Century Modern Stools
Materials
Brass
Butterfly Stool by Sori Yanagi for Tendo Mokko
By Sori Yanagi
Located in Sammushi, JP
Rare butterfly stool designed by Sori Yanagi, manufactured by Tendo in Japan.
It has an oval seal. It is a proof that it is a valuable early work. Comes with a red cushion. It's the...
Category
Vintage 1960s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Materials
Teak
$5,440 Sale Price
27% Off
Elephant Stool by Sori Yanagi
By Sori Yanagi
Located in San Diego, CA
Orange fibreglass elephant stool by Sori Yanagi, which was designed in 1954. Sori was the son of the Japanese Folk Crafts Museum founder, Soetsu Yanagi. Having studied both art and a...
Category
Vintage 1950s Japanese Organic Modern Stools
Materials
Fiberglass
$1,120 Sale Price
20% Off
Elephant stool by Sori Yanagi
By Sori Yanagi
Located in Paris, FR
An Elephant stool by Sori Yanagi in blue fiberglass, manufactured by Kotobuki Seating Company, Tokyo, Japan, engraved with the editor’s mark and designer’s one under the seat, model ...
Category
Vintage 1950s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Stools
Materials
Fiberglass
Elephant Stool by Sori Yanagi
By Sori Yanagi
Located in Paris, FR
An Elephant stool by Sori Yanagi, in black fiberglass, manufactured by Kotobuki Seating Company, Tokyo, Japan, engraved with the editor’s mark and designer’s one under the seat, mode...
Category
Vintage 1950s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Stools
Materials
Fiberglass
Recently Viewed
View MoreRead More

JF Chen Moves Stools Out of the Corner and into the Spotlight
In Los Angeles, dealer Joel Chen gives the often clever and always versatile seats some long-overdue attention.

In L.A., Gallerist JF Chen Has Long Championed Eclectic Blue-Chip Design
Now working alongside his daughter Bianca, dealer Joel Chen has presented a most covetable array of antiques, art and contemporary creations for more than 40 years.
The 1stDibs Promise
Learn MoreExpertly Vetted Sellers
Confidence at Checkout
Price-Match Guarantee
Exceptional Support
Buyer Protection
Trusted Global Delivery