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Zulu meat tray (Ugqoko), South Africa
27" long
wood, pigment
mid 20th Century, definite signs of age and use
From the South African Collection of Pucker Gallery, Boston, MA
Condition report: One of the handles on this meat tray has been previously broken and restored.
It is the handle on the bottom of the photo (upper right).
$1300
Inventory # SA740
27" long
wood, pigment
mid 20th Century, definite signs of age and use
From the South African Collection of Pucker Gallery, Boston, MA
Condition report: One of the handles on this meat tray has been previously broken and restored.
It is the handle on the bottom of the photo (upper right).
$1300
Inventory # SA740
The styles and sizes of meat platters, called ugqoko, are varied. Generally they consist of one large rectangular
bowl with rounded corners flanked on each end by handles. More uncommon examples consist of two round
bowls with a tray in the middle which it has been said to hold salt. Most have decorations carved into the
underside of the platter, the platters are often times placed upside down over another platter to act as a cover.
The platters were routinely smeared with the fat of ritually slaughtered animals which has been documented as
being associated with the idea of ancestral protection.
bowl with rounded corners flanked on each end by handles. More uncommon examples consist of two round
bowls with a tray in the middle which it has been said to hold salt. Most have decorations carved into the
underside of the platter, the platters are often times placed upside down over another platter to act as a cover.
The platters were routinely smeared with the fat of ritually slaughtered animals which has been documented as
being associated with the idea of ancestral protection.
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