Chalkware Ozark Hillbilly Horse

VINTAGE OZARK SOUVENIR "HUNGRY HORSE" - PAINTED PLASTER SWAYBACK NAG WITH ORIGINAL GOLD FOIL LABEL: OZARK HILLBILLY VILLAGE, CABOOL, MO. A painted plaster souvenir figurine of the comic "hungry horse" - the swaybacked old nag with a long drooping neck, big sad eye, grinning muzzle, ribs modeled into the hollow sides, and a shaggy mane and tail, standing on an integral oval ground base. Hand-decorated finish: tan and rust-brown airbrushed body with dark brown-black shading down the mane, tail, and hooves, streaks of teal-green in the tail and along the base, a pink-red muzzle, and an overall glossy coating. Marks: a small gold foil label on the front of the base reads in black lettering "OZARK / HILLBILLY VILLAGE / CABOOL, MO." Roughly 5 in tall on a base about 4.5 in long. Flaws to know about: the piece is hollow-cast plaster and the underside is open, showing bare white plaster and two large casting holes with dark specks and old dirt; the base rim shows chips, rubs, and paint loss; the foil label is creased, scratched, and dulled; scattered small nicks, dark flecks, and light crazing in the painted surface; a hairline seam line runs down the base sides. No breaks and no missing parts were found - ears, muzzle, legs, and tail are intact. UNTESTED and unverified - nothing was washed, tested, or examined beyond the photographs. Sold as one figurine. Description Form: standing caricature horse, head low and grinning, exaggerated hollow flanks with modeled ribs, feathered lower legs, long combed tail sweeping down to the base. Comic folk-souvenir figure, not a realistic horse model. Construction and finish: hollow slip- or mold-cast plaster with an open underside, two round casting vent holes, and unpainted white plaster inside. Decoration is hand-applied paint over the plaster with a clear gloss coat - not glazed ceramic. Marks: only the gold foil souvenir label on the base front reading "OZARK / HILLBILLY VILLAGE / CABOOL, MO." No maker name, mold number, artist signature, date, or country of origin appears anywhere, and the label names the shop that sold it, not the maker. Size: approximately 5 inches tall, with a base approximately 4.5 inches long and about 2 inches deep, per the tape-measure photographs. In each frame the tape lies loose alongside the piece rather than hooked, so these are close estimates only. Photographed on a dark oak table. Only the one figurine pictured is included. The Milwaukee tape measure is a photo reference only and is NOT included. Attribution note This is the well-known comic "hungry horse" or "starving horse" figure - also sold as the swaybacked nag - done here as a painted plaster Ozark tourist souvenir. The same figure appears in molded wood-composition versions of the Syroco type, and in some listings under names like "Nags Head" and "Sorrowful Suzy," with comparable examples carrying 1940s copyright dates and 1950s souvenir signatures. Chalkware and painted-plaster novelties of this kind are described by Wikipedia as molded plaster of Paris finished in oils or watercolors, and by Collectors Weekly in connection with the carnival-prize and souvenir trade, with the bulk of collectible examples generally placed from the 1930s into the 1960s. On the label: vintage postcards document Ozark Hillbilly Village as a roadside stop in Cabool, Missouri, on U.S. Highway 60-63, advertising an eight-room hillbilly museum along with "hill" novelties, handcrafts, and souvenirs, air conditioned. Postcards of the Cabool location are catalogued by postcard dealers including CardCow, and the same card text appears in collector listings. That places this figurine squarely in the mid-century Ozark hillbilly souvenir trade, which the Missouri Encyclopedia describes as a substantial roadside industry that declined after the interstates replaced the older highways. The label identifies the shop, so no maker or manufacturer is claimed, and no date is claimed. Notes for bidders This is plaster, so keep it dry - permanently. Never wash it, never soak it, never wipe it with a wet or damp cloth, and never use any cleaner or spray. Water passes straight through the painted coat, softens the plaster, and lifts the paint, and the damage cannot be undone. Dust it with a dry soft brush only, and work gently around the base rim where the paint is already chipping. Do not touch the label. The gold foil sticker naming Ozark Hillbilly Village is the single most interesting thing about this piece, and it is what separates it from an anonymous plaster horse. Do not peel it, do not pick at the edges, and do not let any liquid near it. Photograph it before display so the reading is recorded. Do not touch up the paint. Overpainting a souvenir chalkware piece kills its value faster than the chips do; collectors accept honest wear on these. Handle it by the base, not by the neck or the tail - those are the thin points on this mold. Display it indoors in a dry room, away from windows, bathrooms, basement