Zulu Telephone Wire Baskets and Vessels

Zulu artist Mankell Dumisa

Mbenge is the Zulu word for the beautiful wire vessels made by South African artisans. The art of telephone wire basket weaving originated in the 1960's with the South African night shift security workers at the Reef Gold Mines. To pass the time these men used discarded telephone wire to decorate their security sticks. Eventually their wives and daughters began creating bowls and other objects. These creations were not only beautiful  they were also very useful. The bowls would be so tightly woven that they could hold water.

The technique for making wire vessels is basically the same ancient process used to weave grass vessels. They are made by wrapping colored telephone wire around a heavier, rigid wire coil using traditional coil weaving methods.

Due to their color and beauty, telephone wire vessels have become popular worldwide. They have become very important to the Zulu as a stable source of income.

Sales of wire goods often allow families to stay together when, in the past, the father very often would have to move away in order to find work. But as wireless technology becomes more widespread, "recycled wire" is getting harder to find. Many artists have to buy phone wire from suppliers. Unfortunately, some wire is procured by cutting actual phone cables which causes huge problems and expense for the phone companies and their customers. 

--Lynn Conaway