Beehive pump inkwell

Rare patent mechanical (pump) inkwell shaped as a beehive with bees around.  The tray in front is adorned with wheat/hay & top with a well which is lined with ceramic and an eagle perched on top as a stopper.  The ceramic weight pushes the ink to the well by turning the top.  All in guilded bronze with ceramic inside.

The bee and the hive have been very present in the iconography of Freemasonry since the 18th century for the social harmony that reigns in the hive, and the laborious and altruistic character of the bees. The hive surrounded by bees is a strong symbol of Freemasonry and appears on many Masonic aprons from the end of the 18th century. The beehive represents the Masonic Temple and the bees, the Freemasons who inhabit it. The hive and the bees are generally associated with the Mason’s work on himself. The Masonic symbolism does not vary, whether the hive is closed or surrounded by bees, because closed does not mean empty.