Kayanic Art | Aesthetic Traditions of Borneo: Part III
Art of the Ancestors is dedicated to the presentation of Island Southeast Asian art for our readership's perusal and further appreciation. This month, we are pleased to offer a third assemblage of antique 'Kayanic' masterworks in world museum collections.
In Kayanic Art: Aesthetic Traditions of Borneo: Parts I & II, Art of the Ancestors showcased masterworks created by diverse indigenous groups living in the interior of the island of Borneo that are sometimes collectively referred to as the orang ulu or 'peoples of the upriver.'
These groups traditionally inhabited the central eastern parts of Sarawak and the middle Mahakam basin and its tributaries in East Kalimantan, Indonesia.
Here, the word 'Kayanic' is employed to refer to the related and occasionally overlapping artistic traditions of the Kayan, Kejaman, Berawan, Punan, Kayaan, Apo Kayan, Kayan Busang, Kenyah, Bahau, Modang, and related sub-groups.
Our presentations of Kayanic, and indeed Dayak material culture, are based on exposing the finest time tested artworks preserved in venerable museum collections. These items were nearly all fashioned from non-durable materials dating from the 18th to the first half of the 20th century and are less than 250 years old.
The sinuous lines and intertwining mythical animals associated with various architectural embellishments, utilitarian objects, including small intimate items, are the hallmarks of Kayanic arts' curvilinear traditions and deep appeal to modern audiences.
In addition, these works are supported in the academic literature, have traceable histories, and verifiable provenances. Art of the Ancestors hopes that such a compendium will eventually serve as the basis for a serious-minded catalogue raisonné and be regarded as the primary source for exploring exquisite and art worthy pieces from Borneo.
The material illustrated in this feature is drawn from prestigious institutions including:
A number of essential items from the extensive collection of the Sarawak Museum are illustrated here. These include two marvelous 19th-century doors and a panel commissioned by Charles Hose in 1904. The Kejaman door's imagery boasts a pair of gaping and impressively large jaws from a protective being engulfing several arresting anthropomorphic figures.
The Berawan example brilliantly depicts a dominant figure materializing out of the door's top and the bottom sections. In between, in the center, there is another much smaller anthropomorphic figure emerging from unifying scrollwork, foliate spirals, and varied plant-inspired motifs that commonly unite compositions in Dayak art.
Such protective motifs are integral to the art form. They can be said to bind, connect, glorify and empower the prestige of their owners while serving as seamless connective tissues between the genealogies of living and the dead and the natural and supernatural world of the forest.
In the realms of projecting power and protection, Dayak accoutrements of war are both legendary and well represented in world museum collections. Here, we present three stellar painted shields.
Two are from the Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen in the Netherlands, whose central design not only protected its owner but riveted the eyes of their opponents with depictions of demonic faces brimming with supernormal powers.
The third shield is a beautiful Kenyah example of a rare and often early type that splits or fractures the planes of a creature's face into floating shape-shifting parts and planes.
Pictured here is a warrior in his regalia clutching just such a shield photographed as early as ca 1867. (KTLV 4543: See Eyes of the Ancestors: Schefold/Alpert, pp: 124/25).
We ought to remember that everyone recognized the virtues of something that was finely and purposefully made. Particularly well crafted items not only reaffirmed its owner's skillset but often also reflected their position within society.
Note the warrior's headdress ornament (tap lavong kayo) from the Dallas Museum of Art, a powerful crest projecting a hunkered anthropomorphic apparition formed from thickly laid copper, not the thin brass of later more decorative examples. There is also an edgy looking belt toggle fashioned from the casque of a hornbill from Yale's collection.
No mention of a Dayak warrior would be complete without introducing Island Southeast Asia's greatest tribal sword (mandau, parang ilang, etc.).
Every aspect of a superior sword must be in balance with one another, from its beautifully worked blade forged from native iron at high temperatures and then immersed into cold water to its highly ornamented handle and scabbard.
The finest heirloom sword blades rarely rust and retain their sharp edge and are among the Dayak's most treasured and beautiful creations. The sword illustrated here is from the National Museum of Scotland.
The same observations apply to the creative power of women who fashioned finely made mats, basketry, embroideries, and especially the region's beadwork.
The Kayan warrior's jacket from the National Museum of Scotland was acquired from Charles Hose in 1906. Its unusual palette of beads and layering of hunkered figures makes it especially noteworthy.
Kayanic peoples are also renowned for their decorated baby carriers. On cane cradles, the exterior is often decorated by beaded tableaus, which, along with charms, cut sections of nasa and conus shells, trade cloth, and small metal attachments that serve to protect the very young against all forms of harm and malevolence.
Two classic Bahau panels for cradles collected by Nieuwenhuis in 1898 and now in the Dutch national collection, are seen here depicting hunkered figures and the bold heart-shaped face that one also sees in woodcarving as exemplified by the imposing figure (jihe) from the top of the funerary post from the Dallas Museum of Art.
Authentic baby carriers fashioned from wood also exist, but they are quite rare compared to their beaded counterparts. The earliest known collected wooden baby entered the Sarawak Museum in 1886 when the collection of Brooke Low was acquired.
Though carved in a style akin to later Bahau pieces found in Kalimantan, this baby cradle once belonged to a Kayan chief from the Upper Rejang River area in Sarawak. It's three stacked heart-shaped faces are starkly impressive and stylistically elementary to this tradition. In addition, it is both beautifully worn and adorned with a near full original complement of cut and inlaid conus shells.
The other Kayan baby carrier illustrated has an unusual beaded panel as well as an august provenance. It was collected on the Baram River in Sarawak and given by William Furness in 1898 to the University of Pennsylvania.
Rounding out this presentation are two unusual and finely made Kayan and Berawan bowls of type and design that are not found in other collections, a superb 19th-century house board from the Upper Tinjar in the Baram River District, again collected by the redoubtable District Officer and chronicler of the Dayak, Charles Hose, and a significant and compelling Apo Kayan hudoq mask from Long Nawang now in the Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen system.
In homage to the art of the diverse groups and stakeholders of the world's third-largest island, stay tuned for our revamped dedicated Borneo gallery, the fourth installment of the Kayanic Art: Aesthetic Traditions series, and more scholarly articles. Thank you for your continued support!
— Steven G. Alpert, founder of Art of the Ancestors
Special appreciation is due to my friends and colleagues, Dr. Antonio Guerreiro, Dr. Bernard Sellato, and Dr. Michael Heppell, for providing invaluable cultural insights as well as academic rigor in the presentation of local names for a number of items and motifs.
All images and artworks presented in this feature are the property of the respective institutions credited.
Mythical Animal Table Leg
© Yale University Art Gallery
Figurative Bowl
© Musée du quai Branly
Explore Art of the Ancestors Borneo Gallery
Further Readings on Borneo
Eyes of the Ancestors: The Arts of Island Southeast Asia at the Dallas Museum of Art
Edited by Reimar Schefold in collaboration with Steven G. Alpert
International du Livre d'Art Tribal
"Simply the best book ever published on this subject." — Sir David Attenborough
"Eyes of the Ancestors is the most comprehensive and compelling book on the subject since J.P. Barbier's Art of the Archaic Indonesians (1981) but this book offers so much more information in an impeccable package—making it an 'instant classic' and a 'must have' for anyone in traditional arts." — Alex Arthur, Tribal Art Magazine
Essential Texts
Avé, Jan B. (1973). Kalimantan, Mythe en Kunst. Indonesisch Ethnografisch Museum Delft.
Barbier, Jean Paul (1984). Indonesian Primitive Art: Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippines from the Collection of the Barbier-Mueller Museum, Geneva. Dallas Museum of Art.
Heppell, Michael (2005). Iban Art: Sexual Selection and Severed Heads. KIT Publishers.
Sellato, Bernard et al (1989). Hornbill and Dragon: Kalimantan, Sarawak, Sabah, Brunei. Elf Aquitaine.
Stöhr, Waldemar; Marschall, Wolfgang (1982). Art of the Archaic Indonesians. Dallas Museum of Fine Arts.
Zonneveld, Albert G. van (2018). Traditional Weapons of Borneo. The Attire of the Head Hunters. Volume 1: Shields and War Clothes. Sunfield Publishing.
Articles on Borneo from the Art of the Ancestors Archive
