Dayak's Finest Basket

This basket is called a rujuh betiang and is used as a storage basket by the Dayak Desa people of West Kalimantan. The stems of senggang (Hornstedtia scyphifera) are selected, dried and cut into fine strips to be woven into the inner lining that forms the cupai. A particular species of bamboo is cut into section and then into fine strips to be woven over the inner basket lining. The black color is achieved by rubbing the outer layer of the bamboo (before it is cut) with a mixture of rambutan leaves and lamp soot while the red is made by rubbing the latex of the boiled fruit called jernang (daemonorops draco) onto the outside of the uncut bamboo. The motif on this basket is called Lekuk motif is also a way to pay symbolic respect to snakes and their ancestors.

Basketry, sedge fibre and bamboo. Handsewn with material around the edge. Made in West Kalimantan, 2023. Size 16 x 16 x 33 cm / 6.5 x 6.5 x 13 in