Item from Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
A marble statue of a woman holding a beehive with exquisite tenderness — one of Piranesi's favourites and a landmark he navigates by.
Piranesi greets this statue by name when he passes. She stands in a hall he visits frequently, and her presence is a comfort — the tenderness of her expression, the care with which she holds the hive, the tiny carved bees that seem ready to take flight. He has written about her in his journal more than once, noting how the light changes her face throughout the day: serene in the morning glow, melancholy in the dim, almost smiling when light catches her from below. For Piranesi, the statues are not decoration. They are his community, his neighbours, the only faces he sees apart from the Other's. The Woman Carrying a Beehive is among the most beloved.
A life-sized marble woman in flowing robes, cradling a domed beehive against her body with both arms. Her face is turned slightly downward toward the hive, expression absorbed and gentle — the concentration of someone carrying something alive and precious. Individual bees are carved into the surface of the hive and along the folds of her robes, each one rendered with anatomical precision. The marble is pale cream, almost warm, and the sculptor has given the woman's robes a texture so fine they appear to ripple in a breeze that does not exist.
Also known as: The Beehive Woman, The Bee Statue