A DUTCH POLYCHROME CARVED WOOD SHOP STATUETTE

According to George Brongers this is a statuette of an Amerongen tobacco planter. In the 17th century grain farmers in the Amerongen area saw their incomes drop dramatically due to superfluous harvests. In order to survive they diversified into tobacco. The demand for pipe and snuff tobacco was high in the 17th century, and continued to increase during the following centuries, and Amerongen became a prosperous village.