The Batak people's bamboo tobacco boxes from lake Toba, Sumatra belong to the darker set of four. Left one's a hand-woven split-rattan by Sarawak's Ibans, Borneo-born. The bamboo spool also Sarawak-sourced, gleams with classic tribal carving.

Heights range from 12-30 cm, diameters from 2.5-7 cm

iban men wore these woven bamboo hats during Gawai festivals in May or June marking rice harvest. Lively dances, long house feasts, maybe even spirit rituals where they would don them proudly.

Two heavily blackened lacquer basket from Laos.

Bamboo rice wine pitcher adorned with intricate tribal patterns as can be seen on the image of a Konyak head taker.

This is a small, rectangular betel nut box hand-woven from blackened bamboo or rattan strips, with intricate natural (un-dyed) bamboo patterns in light beige or cream color. The tight, fine weaving features classic Lampung geometric motifs-a combination of zigzags, elephants, crossed lines, and dotted patterns that are characteristic of Lampung craftsmanship, especially from the coastal Pepadun or Pubian communities in Southern Sumatra, Indonesia.

These boxes are traditionally used to store the complete set of ingredients for chewing betel like areca nut, betel leaves, gambir, lime paste and sometimes tobacco. They are an important part of Lampung adat (customary) culture and are often given as ceremonial gifts, especially during weddings.

The dark color comes from soaking the bamboo/rattan in mud or natural dyes for months, which also makes it more durable. The lighter patterns are created by inserting thin strips of lightly smoked bamboo during the weaving process.

16cm by 22 cm