Handcrafted in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa, Zulu bowls, pots and baskets were traditionally crafted of clay, Illala palm grass and other natural materials. With the advent of telephone wire becoming available to the Zulu people they began using traditional weaving skills to make this telephone wire beautiful art.

The second photo is the back side of the plate

This is in my personal collection and purchased from a museum in South Africa on my first trip there and you will see that it is unlike most telephone wire bowls you see today. It is thicker, heavier, i.e. this plate weighs over 2.6 lbs and my contemporary Zulu telephone wire bowl of similar size weighs .14 oz. This museum quality plate/bowl is a vintage, collectible work of art with a very unique tribal design.

One story I was told when in South Africa, was that when Zulu men were hired as guards at the Telephone Company, they began to wrap their batons with telephone wire, which eventually led to using the wire for their traditional utilitarian and decorative items.

Approximate Dimensions: 15" D X 48" C X .5" H