传统婴儿背带（Ba'）Dayak Kenyah—藤条、木材，以及由骨珠或鹿角珠串组成的花环 - 婆罗洲

原始民族志对象，归属中部婆罗洲地区的Dayak Kenyah文化圈（Apo Kayan / 上 Mahakam 河盆地）。这是一个刚性实用型婴儿携篮，传统上称为 ba'。

分析与珠串符号
婴儿携篮在上缘镶嵌有一条由手工切割成几何形状、带Facet的珠串所构成的花环状挂饰，这些珠子用骨头或鹿角制成，通过一根深色织物绳穿连而成。绳索在每颗珠子之间以单独的结固定，保持珠子稳定，不致位移或擦碰，这种布置显示出一种经过精心设计并稳定融入整体结构的做法。

在Dayak材料文化中，ba'婴儿携篮常常配备具有保护性质的元素，如珠子、铃铛、牙齿、贝壳或其他具有象征意义的物品，旨在按照关于生命之魂在婴幼年阶段易感脆弱的传统信念来保护孩子。它们不仅仅是装饰品，更是防护盾牌的主要要素之一。

这件样品最独特的特征之一，是保存完好的由珠子逐一手工雕刻、穿孔并逐一结扎的花环。相比进口密集玻璃微珠（aban）构成的华贵编织，与高贵贵族的婴儿携篮并行，这件作品以一种明显手工工艺的 ornamental 传统来表达同样的保护功能，依托本地可用的自然资源与社区传统的延续，代代相传。

这种处理方式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，而在于以周遭环境提供的材料进行手工创作的仪式感。这种传承的智慧并未削弱作品的朴素性，反而强化了其作为日常物质文化证据的民族志价值。

携篮主体：
篮体的凹形主体完全由野生藤条平板条密织而成，呈菱形（鱼骨花纹织法，herringbone weave），这一技法旨在在不显著增加重量的前提下提供结构刚性。

两条侧向运输带采用相同类型的藤条编结而成。该植物结构通过花式木座（半月形）以有机木塞和因使用与岁月而变深的织物系带与之相接。

座位的尺寸（25 × 14 cm）与在珀恩博物馆等参考的婆罗洲Ba'婴儿携篮传统藏品中所观察到的尺寸相一致。

时间轴：约1940–1970

尺寸：
• 高度：36 cm
• 上部宽度（开口处）：34 cm
• 底部宽度：25 cm
• 底部深度：14 cm

保存状况：
结构在力学上完好。藤条保持其原有柔韧性与张力，呈现稳定的天然赭棕色随岁月积累的光泽。木底部因使用而有表面磨损，在某一顶角处有小的缺口，但不影响整件的稳定性（请见红线圈定的细节）。未见修复或结构性损伤。

靠背内部呈现局部晦暗区域，与持续使用相符，位置可能对应婴儿在使用过程中的头部反复倚靠。

提供的照片为本批次描述的一部分。

参考文献：
1. 大都会艺术博物馆 – Aban 与 Kayan/Kenyah 婴儿携篮的收藏记录。
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 社会等级结构中的婴儿携篮角色变迁。

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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.