Traditional netbag "bilum"
Heinrich Hense (1888 to mid-1960s), Altengeseke / Lippstadt, Germany (coll. in situ, pre 1918)
Family-owned since then
Heinrich Hense was born in Altengeseke in North Rhine-Westphalia in 1888. Trained as a locksmith, he worked as a repairman for Heinrich Nordhaus, a bicycle, sewing machine and motor vehicle dealer in Münster, from 1907 to 1909. He then joined the Imperial Navy, where he travelled for long periods in Oceania and the South Seas. This is documented for the years 1911 and 1912 by dated letters on the letterhead of the shipping company “Norddeutscher Lloyd”. According to this, he travelled on the steamer “Prinz Ludwig” in 1911 and on the Reichspostdampfer “Königin Luise” in 1912.
Description
twisted plant fibre, worked in the technique of knotless interlacing,
A very beautiful, meticulously and finely crafted example with three tongue-shaped decorative lugs; the entire front set with nassa snails.
‘Bilum’ are used by women, men and children alike. Women carry their ‘bilum’ hanging on their back with the strap over their forehead. Men carry the net bag over their shoulder or on their belt. Babies are also carried in them or hung up like a hammock to sleep in.