Ratan Working Tools

That form follows function has been the credo for more than half a century, and yet in earlier times and other places the presence of design on objects of everyday use was indicative of reverence and status. Ornamentation can have symbolic meaning and it can have a sensual and aesthetic value for the user. This group of tools for making mats and baskets was collected from different areas of Borneo, and several of them show wear patterns left from the residue of hand oils and the rubbing of fingers.