Vitra Stool Butterfly Stool
Vitra Stool Butterfly Stool

Butterfly Stool

$1,250

Made by Vitra

Sori Yanagi designed the Butterfly Stool in 1954, and it has never required revision. Two mirror-image shells of molded plywood rise and join at a central brass rod, their arcing forms suggesting a moment of lift, a held breath before flight. The silhouette reads as sculpture from every angle.

Yanagi arrived at this form by marrying the plywood bending techniques pioneered by Charles and Ray Eames with a distinctly Japanese sense of proportion and negative space. The result belongs to neither tradition entirely, which is precisely why it endures. It is one of the rare objects that looks inevitable.

  • Available in Maple or Rosewood veneer
  • Shells joined by a single brass tension rod
  • Designed 1954, produced continuously since
  • Part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York
Material
Material: Maple

Typically ships in 2-4 weeks.

Pairs well with

Product Details

Measurements

H × W

15.25 × 16.50 in.

39 × 42 cm.

Shipping & Returns

Please refer to our shipping and return & exchange policy.

Warranty

Luminaire is an authorized retailer of Vitra. The product comes with a full manufacturer warranty.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who designed the Butterfly Stool and when?

Sori Yanagi designed the Butterfly Stool in 1954. Yanagi was one of Japan's most celebrated industrial designers, known for synthesizing European modernist technique with Japanese aesthetic philosophy.

What materials is the Vitra Butterfly Stool made from?

The stool is constructed from molded plywood veneer, available in Maple or Rosewood, with the two shells joined by a brass tension rod that both stabilizes the form and contributes to its visual character.

How does the Butterfly Stool relate to Charles and Ray Eames?

Yanagi studied the molded plywood bending techniques that Charles and Ray Eames had developed and popularized in the late 1940s, then applied them within a formal language rooted in Japanese design sensibility, arriving at a result that is distinct from the Eames body of work.

Is the Butterfly Stool in any museum collections?

Yes. The Butterfly Stool is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, among other major design and art institutions worldwide, reflecting its status as a canonical object of twentieth-century design.

Can the Butterfly Stool be used as everyday seating?

The stool is structurally sound for regular use, though its relatively low seat height and sculptural form make it equally suited as an accent piece or occasional seat. Many collectors and designers place it where it can be appreciated from multiple vantage points.

Brand

Vitra
Wooden Dolls

Vitra

Vitra is a Swiss contemporary design and furniture brand, founded in 1950 by Willi and Erika Fehlbaum in Birsfelden, Switzerland.