He is gazing upward and his toy bag is wide open. Also, his tongue is sticking out.
What a super fun and quirky yesteryear, kitschy item. Circa 60's / 70's. To reiterate, the eyes on this particular Santa mold are painted very, very nicely!
I have seen other ones, but I just love the expression of the eyes in conjunction with the tongue. The painter of this mold did a wonderful job with the detailing. There is an outlining around the eyes in black with eyelashes and there are even catch lights in his brown eyes! The gray toy box / planter / or candy jar, has a hole in the bottom.
You could cover the hole to put candy inside, or set it on something and use it as a planter. I'm not sure if it would last or not doing that. It is unglazed ceramic inside. 4" - 4 1/2" deep. Does have some soiling, light rubbing / paint chipping and a thin pen mark along one side of the nose as well as across one of the buttons may be able to come out... It lightened when I wiped the area, and dusty?? Has normal shelf wear for an item of this vintage. Please check all of the images and you will see what I mean. I don't think anything is glaring or objectionable. I have taken several images. If you would like any more images or have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.At the time of listing, I have 2 other really nice Christmas Santa molds. This item is in the category "Collectibles\Holiday & Seasonal\Figurines". The seller is "rizziez" and is located in this country: US. This item can be shipped to United States.