Dayak Baby Carrier Panel, Framed

Two dragon-like creatures face off across a field of tiny beads, tails and tongues in full curl.

This framed baby carrier panel is Dayak, from Borneo, Indonesia, and dates to the late 19th or early 20th century. Among the Dayak, beaded panels for baby carriers were generally made by women, and the beads and motifs are widely understood as protection for the child carried within. Small beads in yellow, black, red, green and white form an interlocking pattern of scrolling creatures around a central masklike figure. A fringe of beads hangs along the lower edge. The panel is set in a wide cream mat inside a silver-toned frame. It is 26.5 inches wide and 20.3 high.

Every bead is a stitch of good intention.