Wright Auction

In the past, the design world has mistakenly attributed this chair to Charlotte Perriand, who,  in 1940, began working in Japan as an adviser to Japan's Department of Trade Promotion. In 1941, she and Junzo Sakakura, a designer she had met at Le Corbusier's studio, presented the collection Tradition, Selection, Creation at the Takashimaya department store, which included both her designs and those of others' that she wanted to feature in the context of her new work. 

In the catalog for the show, an example of the present lot is pictured — not as a design by Perriand, but as comparison with a cantilevered bamboo chair that she did design, highlighting what she believed to be improvements on the form and use of materials. The chair was actually designed by Ubunji Kidokoro in 1937; also pictured is Alvar Aalto's Paimo/Model 31 lounge chair (1932), which was quoted as an inspiration for Kidokoro's design.