Tutsi Wooden Prestige Plate

This attractive gift plate is a wooden equivalent of a Tutsi woven basketry prestige plate. It would have been carved by a man while baskets are woven by women. The front of the plate was painted with a black pigment and then the zig zag design was carved through to expose the wood underneath. The edge was then rubbed with a red pigment encircled by another black line. The background of the plate is scored with parallel lines, once again mimicking basketry. An unusual and rare piece.