This bamboo basket belongs to a selection of Borneo baskets collected by William Louis Abbott (1860-1936), the American naturalist, renowned for his prodigious collections from the Malay Archipelago. The Dayaks of Pulo Saparo use this type of basketry fitted with support frames to help the user to carry heavy loads. The baskets are designed to be durable and made as items of trade. Plaiting strands of contrasting colours to form intricate designs is a distinct and well developed decorative technique in Borneo. Designs are sometimes painted on the surface of the basket using a pigment called 'jernung' (dragon’s blood), extracted from the fruits of the rattan species. Most of the baskets Abbott donated to the Raffles Museum were made from locally gathered plant materials.
