Slovenian beekeeping presented in China

The Slovenian Ethnographic Museum's (SEM) travelling exhibition on the history of Slovenian beekeeping has been put on show in China, bringing nearly 70 items to the Museum of Fine Arts in Xi'an in the province of Shaanxi, including 60 beehive panels with various folk motifs painted on them. The show opened on Monday and will be on until March.

 

At the opening, the main characteristics of Slovenian beekeeping were outlined through authentic items and documents by curators Bojana Rogelj Škafar and Barbara Sosič.

Slovenia was presented to the Chinese public as the homeland of the Carniolan honey bee (Apis mellifera carnica) and excellent beekeepers with a centuries-long tradition.

The curators also talked about the folk art associated with beekeeping, which they described as a way of living of most of the Slovenian population in the 19th century.

SEM keeps more than 770 hive wooden panels, the largest collection of its kind in Slovenia, of which 60 are now in China.

The hive panels feature a number of different religious and secular images from everyday life in what testifies to unique folk creativity.

Also put on show was the AŽ-type hive, which is used by more than 90% of Slovenian beekeepers and is considered a signature Slovenian hive.

Its convenience has also made it a household name in the world, SEM said.

With around 11,000 beekeepers, the largest number in Europe, Slovenia could be said to be a nation of beekeepers.

It was on its initiative that the United Nations designated 20 May World Bee Day in 2017.

Beekeeping has been part of Slovenia's national non-tangible cultural heritage since 2018 and 2022, UNESCO put beekeeping as a way of living in Slovenia on its list of non-tangible heritage.