In celebration of The Senses: Design Beyond Vision, this Object of the Day post takes a multisensory approach to an object in Cooper Hewitt’s permanent collection. This cut and folded paper sphere created by Masahiro Chatani in 1980 is a complex example of “origamic architecture,” a type of kirigami (切り紙)—from the words kiru (to cut)...

One of many cut paperworks in Cooper Hewitt’s collection made by the same (now anonymous) craftsperson, this incredibly intricate devotional card is an example of the paper-crafting technique scherenschnitte (German for “scissor cuts”).  Frequently used to embellish religious objects representing  saints and other figures well-known to the Catholic, Germanic world of the 18th century,  scherenschnitte...