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

原始民族志物件，属于婆罗洲中部日丹肯雅(Dayak Kenyah)文化领域（ Apo Kayan / Mahakam 上游流域）。这是一个刚性、实用的婴儿携带篮，传统上称为 ba'。

分析与珠串符号学
婴儿携带篮在上缘装有一串手工切割、几何形状的珠串，珠子由骨头或鹿角雕刻而成，穿在深色织物绳上。绳子在每颗珠子之间以独立的结固定，使珠子保持固定、避免移动或摩擦，这种布置显示出一种经过深思熟虑、稳定的结构，完整地融入到整体之中。

在日达克的物质文化中，ba'婴儿携带篮常常融入具有保护性特征的元素，如珠子、铃铛、牙齿、贝壳或其他具有象征意义的物品，旨在按照传统信仰保护婴儿，尤其在生命头几年的灵魂脆弱性方面的信念。它们并非仅仅作为装饰，而是保护性盾牌的重要组成部分。

本件最独特的特征之一，是保存下来的手工雕刻、穿孔并逐一系紧的珠串花环。与来自高贵阶层的密集玻璃珠幕（aban）所体现的精致工艺相比，这一件以手工艺传统的美学来表达相同的保护功能，强调可获得的天然材料的利用以及社区的传统与习俗的延续。

这种做法揭示了对物件价值的另一种理解：其象征意义并非依赖于通过贸易获得的名贵材料，而在于以手工方式创作的仪式性过程，以及对周边环境的有效利用。传承的智慧并未削弱这件物品的简朴性，反而强化了其作为日常物质文化证言的民族志价值。

携带篮的主体：
容器的凹形主体完全由野生藤条扁平带材密集紧密编织而成，形成鱼骨纹（herringbone weave）格局的结构，这一技术旨在为整体提供刚性结构而不过分增加重量。

两条侧边携带带同样采用同种藤条编织而成。植物结构通过木制半月形座位与有机木栓和经久使用而变深的织物绑带连接在一起。

座位的尺寸（25 × 14 cm）与传统的、在参考性族裔博物馆收藏中保留的、与婆罗洲 ba' 婴儿携带篮相关的样品相符，例如宾州博物馆（Penn Museum）收藏中的样本。

年代：约 1940–1970
尺寸：
• 高度：36 cm
• 上部宽度（口部）：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，呈现出天然的焦褐色随年龄稳定形成的色泽。木底部有使用痕迹，局部角落有小块缺口，但不影响整体稳定性。（见红框中的细节）。未观察到修复及结构性损坏。

靠背内部显示出一小块暗褐色区域，与长期使用相符，可能对应婴儿在使用时头部反复抵靠的部位。

提供的照片构成本批次描述的组成部分。

参考资料：
1. 大都会艺术博物馆（The Metropolitan Museum of Art）— Aban 与 Kayan/Kenyah 婴儿携带篮的馆藏记录。
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': The Shifting Role of Baby Carrier among the Stratification Society in Central Borneo.

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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.