传统婴儿背带（Ba’） Dayak Kenyah – 藤条、木材与由骨珠或鹿角珠串成的珠饰项链 - 婆罗洲

原始 ethnographic 对象，可归属于中部婆罗洲 Dayak Kenyah 文化圈（Apo Kayan / 上马哈坎河流域）。它是一件刚性实用性婴儿背篓，传统上被称为 ba'。

分析与珠饰象征
婴儿背篓在其上缘饰有手工面切面的几何珠串，珠子由骨头或鹿角雕刻而成，穿在深色织物绳上。绳子通过每颗珠子之间的单独打结固定，使珠子保持固定，防止移动或摩擦，这种布置显示出一种经过深思熟虑、稳定且与整体结合在一起的制作方式。

在Dayak物质文化中，ba'婴儿背篓常融入具有保护性意义的元素，如珠子、铃铛、牙齿、贝壳或其他象征价值的物品，旨在按照传统信仰保护婴儿，尤其在婴儿生命的前几年对灵魂脆弱性的观念之下。这些并非单纯的装饰品，而是防护盾牌的主要组成元素之一。

本件最独特的特征之一，是保存完好的手工雕刻、钻孔并逐一打结的珠串花环。与进口玻璃微珠（aban）密集锦绣的高贵贵族背篓的精美对比相形见绌，这件作品通过一种鲜明的手工装饰传统，强调保护功能，强调利用可获得的自然资源，并延续社区的风俗习惯、代代相传。

这一做法揭示了一种对物件价值的不同理解：其象征意义并非依托通过贸易获得的名贵材料，而在于用周围环境所提供的材料手工制作的仪式性。此种代代相传的智慧，非但没有削弱作品的简朴，反而强化了其作为日常物质文化的民族志价值。

背笼主体：
背笼的凹形容器体全部以野生藤条的密织扁条编织而成，呈菱形（人字纹）纹样的密织结构，旨在在不显著增加重量的前提下提供刚性。

两条侧向携带带用同一类型的藤条编织而成。藤木结构通过有机木塞和随使用与岁月而变深的织物捆绑物连接到形似月牙的木质座板上。

座板尺寸（25 × 14 cm）与在研究婆罗洲背篓 ba' 的传统样本中观察到的尺寸相符，这些样本现存于以背篓为主题的民族志收藏，如Penn博物馆的收藏。

时间线：约 1940–1970

尺寸：
• 高度：36 cm
• 上口宽度：34 cm
• 底部宽度：25 cm
• 底部深度：14 cm

保存状况：
结构在机械上完好。藤条保持原有的柔韧性与张力，呈现稳定的天然赭色包浆，随年龄增长而自然褐黄。木底部有使用痕迹，边角有小面积缺口，但不影响整体的稳定性（见红色边框处细节）。未发现修复或结构损伤。
背板内部留有一小块与长期使用相符合的暗色区域，其位置可能对应婴儿在使用中的头部反复靠放的部位。

提供的照片是本批次描述的组成部分。

参考文献：
1. 大都会艺术博物馆—关于 Aban 与 Kayan/Kenyah 背婴篮的收藏记录。
2. Penn Museum—J. Chin, Baby Carriers, Expedition Magazine, Vol. 30, Nº 1 (1988).
3. Whittier, Herbert L. (1978). The Kenyah. 收录于 Essays on Borneo Societies.
4. Faridah Sahari (2016). Ba': Central Borneo 阶层社会中婴儿背 carrier 的角色转变。

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Traditional Dayak Kenyah Baby Carrier (Ba') – Rattan, wood and a garland of bone or antler beads knotted as a protective amulet – Ethnographic object, Borneo, mid-20th century.

Description:

Original ethnographic object attributable to the Dayak Kenyah cultural sphere of central Borneo (Apo Kayan / Upper Mahakam river basin). It is a rigid utilitarian baby carrier basket, traditionally known as a ba'.

Analysis and Symbolism of the Garland Beads

The baby carrier incorporates, along its upper edge, a festooned garland of hand-faceted geometric beads carved from bone or antler and strung on a dark textile cord. The cord is secured by individual knots between each bead, keeping them fixed in place and preventing movement or friction, an arrangement that demonstrates a deliberate and stable construction fully integrated into the object.

Within Dayak material culture, ba' baby carriers frequently incorporated protective elements such as beads, bells, teeth, shells and other objects of symbolic value, intended to protect the child according to traditional beliefs concerning the vulnerability of the soul during the first years of life. They were not merely decorative ornaments, but one of the principal elements of the protective shield.

One of the most distinctive features of this example is the preservation of a garland of beads individually carved, drilled and knotted by hand. In contrast to the refinement of the dense panels of imported glass microbeads (aban), characteristic of the baby carriers belonging to the high aristocracy, this piece expresses the same protective function through a distinctly handcrafted ornamental tradition, based on the use of locally available natural resources and on the continuity of the community's customs and traditions, passed down from generation to generation.

This approach reveals a different understanding of the object's value: its symbolic significance did not rest on prestigious materials acquired through trade, but on the ritual of creating by hand with what the surrounding environment provides. This inherited knowledge, far from diminishing the sobriety of the piece, reinforces its ethnographic value as a testimony to everyday material culture.

The Body of the Baby Carrier
The concave body of the receptacle is entirely constructed from a dense, tightly woven arrangement of flat strips of wild rattan in a herringbone weave, a technique intended to provide structural rigidity to the whole without significantly increasing its weight.

The two lateral carrying straps are made from the same type of plaited rattan. The vegetal structure is joined to a rigid crescent-shaped wooden seat by means of organic pegs and textile bindings darkened through use and age.

The dimensions of the seat (25 × 14 cm) are consistent with those observed in traditional examples preserved in major ethnographic collections devoted to the ba' baby carriers of Borneo, such as those of the Penn Museum.

Chronology: c. 1940–1970

Measurements:
• Height: 36 cm
• Upper width (opening): 34 cm
• Base width: 25 cm
• Base depth: 14 cm

Condition:
Condition: Structurally sound. The rattan retains its original flexibility and tension, displaying a stable natural honey-brown patina acquired through age. The wooden base shows surface wear consistent with use, including a small chip localized on one of the corners, without affecting the structural stability of the piece (see detail outlined in red). No restorations or structural damage are observed.
The inner back panel shows a small localized area of darkening consistent with prolonged use of the piece, the location of which may correspond to the repeated resting of the child's head during use.

**The photographs provided form an integral part of the description of this lot.**

References:

1. The Metropolitan Museum of Art – registros de colección sobre Aban y portabebés Kayan/Kenyah.
2. Penn Museum – J. Chin, Baby Carriers, Expedition Magazine, Vol. 30, Nº 1 (1988).
3. Whittier, Herbert L. (1978). The Kenyah. En Essays on Borneo Societies.
4. Faridah Sahari (2016). Ba': The Shifting Role of Baby Carrier among the Stratification Society in Central Borneo.