The British Bee Hive
Print
1840 (designed), 1867 (printed and published)
1840 (designed), 1867 (printed and published)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Cruikshank's image of the bee hive as a metaphor for society is based on an idea developed by the economist Adam Smith in the 1770s which suggested that social status and social identity were primarily determined not by social, religious or political rank, but by occupation and by an individual's relation to the means of production. So in this print the hierarchy of British society is presented as a pyramid showing each profession's relative importance and status. Bees are a singularly industrious species in which there are clear divisions of labour, and have been used as a metaphor for human social structures since Roman times.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The British Bee Hive (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Etching |
| Brief description | George Cruikshank, pamphlet, 'The British Bee Hive'. |
| Marks and inscriptions |
|
| Credit line | Given by Mrs. George Cruikshank |
| Object history | One of seven copies of the pamphlet 'The British Bee Hive'. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Cruikshank's image of the bee hive as a metaphor for society is based on an idea developed by the economist Adam Smith in the 1770s which suggested that social status and social identity were primarily determined not by social, religious or political rank, but by occupation and by an individual's relation to the means of production. So in this print the hierarchy of British society is presented as a pyramid showing each profession's relative importance and status. Bees are a singularly industrious species in which there are clear divisions of labour, and have been used as a metaphor for human social structures since Roman times. |
| Associated object | 9779 (Design) |
| Bibliographic reference | Rank. Picturing the social order 15-16-2009 Sunderland: Northern Gallery for Comtemporary Art, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-9549119-3-5 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 9779A/4 |
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| Record created | June 12, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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