Necklace worn by Dayak Kelabit women in Borneo, Indonesia.
Beads are valued by all the Borneo’s tribes. Dayak families of the upper class own a certain number of old beads which formed an important part of a family’s prestige and wealth, and were one of the principal forms of currency.
Materials: Carnelian, metal, glass beads and feline or bear teeth. Glass beads were for years imported and traded from India, China and Europe. The yellow doughnut beads and the rosette decorated beads have considerable ritual value.
Age: The necklace is made with beads of different ages, some of them could be a couple of hundred years old or more, other glass beads are from the 19th and 20th century. The majority of the heirloom glass beads in Kalimantan are most probably from the 17th-19th c, when trade with Europe was at his height.
Dimensions:
Total length: 80 cm
Central tassel of beads: 7 cm
Literature:
“Heirloom beads among the Dayak of Borneo”, Campbell, Barbie, BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers 34 (2022)
“Beads of Borneo”, Munan, Heidi, Editions Didier Millet, 2005, p. 58-59
“Beads in Indonesia” Adhyatman, Sumarah – Arifin, Redjeki, Penerbit Djambatan, 1993, p. 94
“Colliers ethniques d’Afrique d’Asie, d’Océanie et d’Amérique”, Leurquin, Anne, Skira, 2003, p. 343
INDO70
