Vintage Indonesian Baby Carrier - Borneo

Description

This is a Ba' or baby carrier used by the Dayak Tribe in Kalimantan, Indonesia. Kalimantan is an area of the island of Borneo. This ba' is from the mid 20th century and was handmade by the Dayak people out of beads, wild boar teeth, shell, brass bells, and cloth on the inside to make the baby more comfortable. On this particular ba' instead of real wild boar teeth they made replicas out of metal. The beaded creature on the front represents a wish to ward off evil spirits, along with the noise the adornments make while being used. The more adornments mean that the family had some wealth. This ba' is a beautiful example of the beadwork, weaving of the rattan, creativity and the culture of the Dayak people. I purchased many artifacts from Borneo, Java, Lombok, Sulawesi, Sumba, Bali, Sumatra, while I was working in Indonesia in the late 80's. All my items are authentic and in my private collection.
HEIGHT:  13.5"
LENGTH: 13"
DEPTH:    9"