This bamboo basket belongs to a selection of Borneo baskets collected by William Louis Abbott (1860-1936), the great America naturalist, well renowned for his prodigious collections from the Malay Archipelago. The Penang Keen Luga, the Dayaks of Sempang River use this type of basketry. Tied at the waist on the left side by rice reapers, these baskets are fitted with support frames to help the user to carry heavy loads. They 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 rattan species. The various techniques in this collection include barkwork, canework, leafwork, rootwork, stemwork, palm-leaf work, and rattan work.Most of the baskets Abbott donated to the Raffles Museum were made from locally gathered plant materials.
