Oceania

Among the Hudson’s collections are early maritime holdings acquired by Mainers who sailed among the Pacific Islands and collected ethnographic objects that range from kava bowls and love sticks to shark tooth edged weapons and carvings.  Other Oceanic collections date to World War II and were brought back by soldiers after the war. These include spears and clubs, many of which came from New Guinea.

In the 1950s the founding director of the Hudson Museum, Richard Emerick, did fieldwork in Micronesia, where he was the Trust Territory Anthropologist for the Pohnpei District in the Caroline Islands. Emerick collected outrigger canoe models, dance paddles, and examples of dress and adornment. Adventurers in the 1980s and 1990s took cruises on the Sepik River, collecting art and artifacts along the way. These collections include masks, shields, and large scale carvings, as well as smaller scale versions created specifically for tourists. Many of these items have never been on display and through this exhibit you can explore the various channels through which these pieces came to the Hudson Museum.