Victorian antique Flatback Arbour Group with Beekeepers hive or skep. Uncommon and charming Victorian Staffordshire flatback group with a couple in a garden setting under an arbour, the man holding fruit and the lady decked with a garland of flowers across her shoulder. Between which a beehive skep with flying bees around it. Before and in early Victorian times, bees were housed in upturned straw baskets called skeps. The shape was conducive to the formation of the honeycomb. The downside was that turning the skep over to collect the honey killed the bees or made them homeless, and so the beekeeper had to hunt down a new wild swarm and start from scratch. Height 20 cms high approx.
