Naturecraft Ltd produced what could be considered the British equivalent of American chalkware depicting colonial couples and Southern Belles—nostalgic figures from an idealized rural past. Instead of hoop skirts and powdered wigs, Naturecraft favored "peasants" engaged in traditional jobs or leisurely pastimes, drawn from a romanticized view of country life.
The company operated from the 1930s until 2006, making its earlier pieces older than many of the mass-produced figurines in similar styles commonly found in thrift stores, which usually date from the 1960s to 1980s.
This particular example—design #826—features a man slumped in a pigsty, apparently passed out from drink. He’s wearing a smock reminiscent of 18th-century agricultural workers. Depictions of inebriated farmhands haven’t exactly stood the test of time as home décor, so the resale value is modest—likely no more than $5.
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