The work of Renate Müller can be described best by the artist herself—her first slogan was the wonderfully succinct: "Therapeutic toys—coarse but cute…". Honouring the tradition of German toymakers from the 1800s, she is renowned for her handmade jute-and-leather animals, which she began creating in the early 1960s.

Müller’s works are created for a reason and serve their function—to help young children with physical disabilities improve and strengthen their motor skills. Müller is a true original, having created this loveable rhino independent of outside influences in design. Her toys are simple, solid, and palpably irresistible to anyone with even the slightest design sensibility or love of childhood imagination-energy. Like her other creations, this rhinoceros invites interaction and adventurous narrative plot lines, while embodying the patient personalities of story-book pets. Like all great design, for children or adults, there is a sophistication to this creation. This rhino is visually graphic, made in rough natural burlap combined with brightly coloured leather accents and saddle in red and blue. Then there is the feel of it: surprisingly voluminous and strong, yet soft and playful at the same time with a solidity of the form. Müller has a strong connection with each piece as she hand-makes them, and the individuality each one holds in its posture or expression is evident in this model.

Working from her own home since taking back the rights to her designs in the early 1990s after the reunification of Germany, Müller chooses to work alone and has staved off countless offers from manufacturers to produce her designs for larger distribution. At one time, these toys could have been found in kindergarten play areas throughout Germany. This rhino is an original, classic design dating to 1968 and was hand-produced in very limited quantities.

SOLD

Condition:

In good vintage condition. Wear consistent with age and use. More visible traces of wear on the head. Original materials.

Dimensions:

13.77 in W x 33.46 in D x 14.56 in H

35 cm W x 85 cm D x 37 cm H

Literature:

Renate Müller: Toys & Design, R & Company/Whitehaus Media, 2011.

About the Designer:

Renate Müller is renowned for her handmade jute-and-leather toys—typically animals—which she began designing and producing in the early 1960s.

Müller has spent her life in Sonneberg, Germany, which was once the epicentre of world toy manufacture. From an early age, she helped out in her family’s toy factory and later became a student at the Sonneberg Polytechnic for Toy Design, where she was encouraged by a teacher to create toy animals that could be used therapeutically for children with physical and mental handicaps.

She began designing and producing toys in the early 1960s as part of an endeavour launched by Helene Haeusler at the College. Haeusler wanted to produce large, bright, exceptionally made toy animals that could be used in a therapeutic setting for children. The toys were used for balance training and orthopaedic exercise as well as for sensory exercises and hand-eye coordination. Inspired by this endeavour, Müller began to create the brightly coloured, multi-sized menagerie she is known for today, such as seals, elephants, giraffes, and bears. Müller, trained in toy design and working as a designer for the H. Josef Leven Company, brought Haeusler’s ideas into production.

Her works debuted at the 1967 Leipzig Trade Fair and continued annually. The toys were tested by psychiatric hospitals and clinics throughout Germany and proved hugely successful. Each year Müller added new animals and objects to the collection. In 1990, Renate Müller took over the rights to her designs and continues to hand-produce very limited quantities of the classic designs as well as new designs. ~H.