An exceptionally prodigious bamboo container with an entrancing stopper, unique in the annals of the Apo Kayan tradition or indeed of any other Dayak community. Fashioned for various utilitarian purposes, this bamboo container is inscribed with an exuberant depiction of undulating and intertwining aso or dragon dogs. The stopper is an artistic tour de force built around a central tattooed Apo-Kayan figure encircled by a ring of spirit beings and protective creatures. 

This elaborate bamboo container was originally collected by the explorer and medical doctor, Hendrik Tillema (1870-1952,) who authored Apo-Kajan - Een filmreis naar en door Centraal Borneo - 1928. (A Journey Among the Apo Kayan in Central Borneo). It has been published at various times subsequent to Tillema's original publication, including in Nederlandsch-Indié Oud en Nieuw, “Netherlands Indies Old and New' and Kalimantan, Mythe en  Kunst (1973). This piece also appears in vintage pre-war images preserved in the Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen archives. By trade, Tillema was a medical doctor who was extraordinarily well-traveled throughout the Indonesian archipelago. He specialized in issues of public health and clean water management. Today, he is remembered as an intrepid explorer and was among the first Europeans to visit the Apo Kayan of central Borneo.