While articulating their astute craftsmanship and functional designs, these two types of traditional wooden plates of the Lotha Naga of Nagaland, India, serve their purpose. Each plate is round and rests on a long cylindrical stand, with a round base giving it stability. Even if both plates share similar designs, size and style variations in the stand shine through individuality, and that is a hallmark of Lotha craftsmanship. However, while retaining bigger cylindrical designs for the plates, the stands possess subtle variations in carving and form, imparting an individual character from the hands of the artisans making them.

These variations are typical of Lotha woodcraft, where utility and individual expression coexist in day-to-day articles. The primary purpose of the stands, while working to elevate the plates from any flat surface, acts as a style element, indicating the tribe's aesthetics and neatness. These plates would have been used in serving communal meals, especially during festivals or feasts, where communal sharing of platters of food issues from the very core of the Lotha Naga's social life. The elevation offered by these stands also shows an intention to keep food clean and off the ground, merging utilitarian considerations with cultural values of respect for food. Locally sourced hardwoods that went into making these very plates are evidence of the ingenuity of the Lotha Naga: combining functionality with art in their daily and ceremonial life.