Creamware Tithe The Pig Figurine

This is a superb figurine made of Creamware in the Staffordshire region around the arly 19th century. It shows a farmer holding a piglet in his arm, the farmer's wife holding her tenth child and the grumpy vicar next to her. Nice tree behind them and a base with a basket of eggs, some wheat and another little pig. This is a figure with one of the most fun stories behind it. The tithe system requires that the parishioners pay one tenth of their annual income to the church. Mostly a voluntary thing by the time this group was modeled but in earlier times it was mandatory! Here the wife is saying you cannot have the tenth pig unless you take the tenth kid as well which does not make the vicar happy at all :) The figure is very well modeled and hand painted to perfection. Not as nice as the Derby version but the Staffordshire pieces have a charm that is hard to beat! The figurine is in great condition and siaplys perfectly but has had some work done on it. Some repair to the boccage, one arm of the lady I believe and the farmer has been worked on quite a bit I believe. His legs for sure and the pig in his hand as well not sure what else but he is usually modeled with a cane instead of that brown thing in his left hand. But like I said it displays perfectly!! The piece is unmarked underneath but that's normal. The figurine is 5.5 inches tall, 6.75 inches wide and 3.75 inches deep. Please email me for more information or other pictures.