Folk Art Handmade Plaster Day of the Dead Mermaid Earrings Set with Pink Glitter with Label marked in graphite attached to each earring, '2014.1.2.2 earring (R.)' & '2014.1.2.1 earring (L.)', 1 1/2” H, in excellent condition.
Folk Art Handmade Plaster Day of the Dead Bride & Bridegroom Earrings Set in Original plastic pouch, marked on verso, 'Tesoros, Mexico', 'Ear Skelton Figure Earrings', 'Shop AGO $12.00', 1 1/2” H, in mint condition.
The mermaid earrings are attributed to be from the Hanni Sager Collection.
El Dia de Los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, in Mexico is a holiday that brings together friends, family and children, on November 1st & 2nd. November 1st is the day to honour children who've died, while November 2nd is set aside for remembering the others who have passed on.
Trained as a fashion designer in her native Switzerland, Hanni Sager immigrated to Canada in the late 1950s. Sager developed and ran toy-making workshops at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre for the Arts. Her efforts and enthusiasm eventually earned her the moniker of Toronto’s Toy Lady.
Disabled by muscular dystrophy, every winter Sager travelled to Mexico to escape Canada’s winters and the discomfort it caused her. Her love of play and interest in toys led her to seek out traditional folk toys on her yearly visits to Mexico. At her residence in Oaxaca, Sager discovered she was living next to a home for disabled orphans. There she took it upon herself to inspire and enable children through the power of play. In Mexico her toy-making workshops became vital to the lives of the children involved by giving them the means to alter the course of their lives.
Sager was awarded a Governor's General Award for Meritorious Service, Civil Division, on June 25, 2001.
Hanni believes that “the toy is the first art object in a person’s life.” The result of her many years of research and discovery, the Hanni Sager Folk Toy Collection presents many examples of exquisite and unique ‘first art objects.’
Select Permanent Collections: Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario.
Provenance: Deaccessioned from the Creative Spirit Art Centre's (1992-2018) permanent art collection.
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