Miniatures Collection from Alice Brown – Democratic Republic of Congo

Description

This collection of items was given to WARP member Molly Martin as a gift from Alice Brown, who established the Alice Brown Memorial Scholarship. The proceeds from this item will go to the Alice Brown Memorial Scholarship Fund

This is a collection of miniatures from Alice Brown, along with 2 raffia mats and 2 braided raffia cords. 

Everything in the 4 photos have survived almost 90 years intact. Alice taught in what was then called the Belgian Congo from 1938-1941. She wrote some small note about the items, but they weren’t legible in the photos so they will be sent along with the collection. AB all shows 1 mat placed atop a 2^nd mat. The top mat is  25 1/2″ square (plus fringe), finely woven with border stripes on all sides. The mat underneath has more wear and some spots. It measures 28″ X 30″.

AB tools jpg shows a small raffia basket with a gourd button for closure, a knife, a hoe, a hatchet, an elephant hair and what is thought to be a raffia woven fish trap, though not positive. The ruler next to the square basket shows that it is 3 ” high. 

AB strings jpg shows 2 types of raffia cording. The tan cord measures 3 yards and 6 inches and is braided. The brown cord measures slightly over 1 yard and is twisted.

AB dolls jpg shows 2 dolls whose movements are controlled by the toes of a person seated on the ground, according to Alice.

The mat is a miniature of a sleeping mat. The stick is possibly a model of a  kind of clock, since she did talk about this. Apparently one places the stick on the ground at 6 AM and a precise system of shadows, footsteps and math results in being able to tell the hours. Being close to the equator means that the sun rises and sets every 12 hours all year long.

This is very unique and priceless, in Molly’s opinion. An introduction to Alice would attest to this.