Dayak Baby Carrier Panel, Framed

A golden figure stands at the center, limbs unfurling into spirals in every direction.

This framed baby carrier panel is Dayak, from Borneo, Indonesia, and dates to the late 19th or early 20th century. Beads reached Borneo through long-distance trade, and Dayak women generally turned them into dense, symmetrical designs of human figures and dragon-like creatures, often understood as guardians. Here a gold figure with a broad face and raised arms fills the center of a black ground, its limbs and headdress curling into hooks and spirals. Red scrolls fill the upper corners, and turquoise curls run along the sides. A short fringe hangs below. It is 24.5 inches wide and 23 high.

A great deal of watchfulness for something so small.