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

原始民族志对象可归属于婆罗洲中部的Dayak Kenyah文化领域（ Apo Kayan / Mahakam 上游流域）。它是一个刚性实用婴儿背篮，传统上被称为 ba'。

分析与珠串符号学
背篮在上缘加入一串手工切面几何珠串，珠子由骨头或鹿角制成，穿在深色纺织绳上。绳索在每颗珠之间以独立的结固定，使珠子稳定，不易移动或摩擦，这种布置体现了有意识且稳定的工艺，与整体功能融为一体。

在Dayak物质文化中，ba'背篮常常 incorporated protector 元素，如珠子、铃铛、牙齿、贝壳或其他具有象征意义的物品，用以在生命初年灵魂的脆弱性信仰中保护儿童。它们不仅是装饰品，而是防护盾牌的主要组成部分。

该样品最独特的特征之一是保留了一串珠饰：珠子经过人工雕刻、打孔并逐一系结。与高贵贵族背篮常用的进口玻璃微珠（aban）密集挂毯的精致相比，这件作品以极具手工艺性的装饰传统表达同样的保护功能，依赖于本地可得的自然资源和社区传统的延续。

这种做法揭示了对象价值理解的另一种方式：其象征意义并非依赖通过贸易获得的名贵材料，而在于以环境所提供的材料进行手工创作的仪式。如此传承的知识，非但没有削弱物件的朴素，反而强化了其作为日常物质文化证据的民族志价值。

背篮主体：
容腔的凸凹形体完全由密集纤维状热带藤编而成，采用李子花纹样的斜列编织（人字编织）技术，以在不显著增加重量的前提下提供结构刚性。

两条侧向背带用同样类型的藤条编制。植物结构通过木质半月形座椅与有机木栓和因使用与时间而变暗的纺织系带结合。

座椅尺寸（25 × 14 cm）与在博物馆收藏的婆罗洲背篮ba'传统样本相符，如 Penn Museum 的收藏。

年代：约 1940–1970

尺寸：
• 高度：36 cm
• 上部宽度（口部）：34 cm
• 底座宽度：25 cm
• 底座深度：14 cm

保存状态：
结构机械性完好。藤条保持原有柔韧性与张力，呈现自然的赭黄至棕色的随年龄而稳定的色调。木底部表面有使用痕迹，角部有小剥落，但不影响整件的稳定性。（请参阅以红色标注的细节）经观察未见修复或结构性损坏。
背带背面的内部支撑板有一小块与长期使用一致的变暗区，其位置可能对应儿童使用期间头部反复支撑的区域。

**所提供的照片构成本批描述的一部分**

参考文献：
1. 大都会艺术博物馆 – Aban 与 Kayan/Kenyah 背篮的收藏记录。
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 社会分层中的婴儿背带角色转变。

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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.