Wired: Contemporary Zulu Telephone Wire BasketsThe manufacture and decorative use of wire in Southern Africa traditional arts dates back to the first millennium AD. With advancements in telecommunications, a new type of wire multi colored plastic coated copper wire, often referred to as telephone wire came into being. Beginning in the late 1960's, Zulu night watchmen started weaving scraps of this wire around their traditional sticks. This new material was also applied to making izimbenge beer pot