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Hudson Museum - The University of Maine

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Hudson Museum - The University of Maine

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06/14/2026

Artifact of the Week: Haudenosaunee Pin Cushion (HM7396), Donated by Patricia Bragdon

In the late 19th and early 20th century pin cushions were popular souvenirs of visits to Niagara Falls. These Victorian-era works, referred to as "whimsies," featured slogans, flowers, leaves, birds and animals as well as patriotic motifs that are featured on this piece. Drawing on design traditions done on clay, shell, and hide going back untold generations, Haudenosaunee artists adopted and adapted new materials to create these extraordinary objects.

Come see objects from around the world at the Hudson Museum in the Collins Center for the Arts on the University of Maine campus Monday - Friday 9am - 4pm.

You can find out more about this and other Hudson Museum artifacts on our collections page here: https://hudsonmuseum.catalogaccess.com/

06/07/2026

Artifact of the Week: Hopi Crow Mother Katsina Plaque (HM5712), Ex. Portland Society of Natural History, Mabel Weeks Collection

This plaque depicts the Hopi Crow Mother katsina, Angwusnasomtaqa or Tümas, who - as her name suggests - is considered the mother of all the katsinas. She is a guardian of children and oversees children's initiation rights.

This piece was collected by Mabel Weeks (1884-1971) of Sebago Lake, Maine. Mabel visited Thoreau, New Mexico in the early 1900s and brought back pottery, baskets, and Navajo textiles, which she bequeathed to the Portland Society of Natural History. The Weeks Collection is now among the Hudson Museum's holdings. She took many photographs during her visit of Navajo people and activities at the McGaffey Trading Post, which was situated along the railroad line leading to the Zuni Mountains.

This basket is featured with many others in the new exhibit - Woven Artistry: Native American Baskets from the Hudson Museum's Collections. Come see this and other objects from around the world at the Hudson Museum in the Collins Center for the Arts on the University of Maine campus Monday - Friday 9am - 4pm.

You can find out more about this and other Hudson Museum artifacts on our collections page here: https://hudsonmuseum.catalogaccess.com/

05/31/2026

Artifact of the Week: Gullah Coil Basket (HM2778), Martha J. Stevens Collection

This basket represents a strong tradition of artistry by African American basketmakers who live along the coastal regions and sea islands of North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. It reflects African basketmaking traditions melded with locally available natural materials such as seagrass, referred to as sweetgrass, bulrush, and oak.

This basket will be featured with many others in the upcoming exhibit - Woven Artistry: Native American Baskets from the Hudson Museum's Collections - opening Tuesday, June 2nd. Come see this and other objects from around the world at the Hudson Museum in the Collins Center for the Arts on the University of Maine campus Monday - Friday 9am - 4pm.

You can find out more about this and other Hudson Museum artifacts on our collections page here: https://hudsonmuseum.catalogaccess.com/

05/24/2026

Artifact of the Week: Squamish fishing creel (HM9810), Donated in Memory of Harold Fabian Underhill

This creel was made by request for the Rev. Canon Harold Underhill. It is woven from spruce root with red cherry bark and wild reed imbrication and has a hand-woven wool strap. Rev. Canon Underhill, along with his wife Helena, collected baskets and archaeological material while he was a chaplain at the All Hallows Indian Residential School, also known as the Yale Indian Residential School. It was an all-girls school run by the Anglican church, active from 1900 to 1918 in Yale, British Columbia on the Fraser River.

This basket will be featured with many others in the upcoming exhibit Woven Artistry: Native American Baskets from the Hudson Museum's Collections, opening Tuesday, June 2nd. Come see this and other objects from around the world at the Hudson Museum in the Collins Center for the Arts on the University of Maine campus Monday - Friday 9am - 4pm.

You can find out more about this and other Hudson Museum artifacts on our collections page here: https://hudsonmuseum.catalogaccess.com/

05/17/2026

Artifact of the Week: Navajo Wearing Blanket (HM9927), Donated by Lisa Marin

This week we are featuring a new acquisition to the Hudson Museum collections - a Navajo wearing blanket made with dyed and undyed churro wool. It was collected in 1929 by painter John C. Marin during a stay in Taos, New Mexico with Mabel Dodge Luhan, but was likely made in the early 1900s. John Marin was one of the first American abstract painters and his subjects included landscapes of both the Southwest and Washington County, Maine--his summer home.

From 1880-1930, Navajo rugs, blankets, saddle blankets, throw pillows, and wall hangings made their way to Maine as souvenirs of visits to the Southwest. Others were brought back by railroad employees or purchased through catalogs sent to the Northeast by reservation traders. This textile from the Marin family was prized for its beauty and showcases the many connections between Maine and the Southwest.

Come see objects from around the world at the Hudson Museum in the Collins Center for the Arts on the University of Maine campus Monday - Friday 9am - 4pm.

You can find out more about this and other Hudson Museum artifacts on our collections page here: https://hudsonmuseum.catalogaccess.com/

05/10/2026

Artifact of the Week: Colima Figure (HM3765), William P Palmer, III Collection

This week we are featuring a ceramic figure of mother and child from the Colima region of Mexico that dates to just over 2000 years ago. The mother sits with a child on her lap, and another standing on her shoulder holding her ear, as well as 32 babies clinging to her!

Come see objects from around the world at the Hudson Museum in the Collins Center for the Arts on the University of Maine campus Monday - Friday 9am - 4pm.

You can find out more about this and other Hudson Museum artifacts on our collections page here: https://hudsonmuseum.catalogaccess.com/ See less

05/03/2026

Artifact of the Week: Penobscot Painting, on loan from the artist

This week we are thrilled to feature "Healing through Connection", 2026, by Tiana Mary, Penobscot, acrylic on canvas with ribbons and including a beaded earring by Martha Bassett, Penobscot. This piece is on loan to the Hudson Museum by the artist for the new exhibit "Two Different Paths: Indigenous Art and Colonizer Depictions".

Tiana says the painting "is inspired by an Indigenous women’s inner struggle of generational trauma and abuse. Her power to overcome and heal through it despite all that is against her. With the connection to her land, her people/family/community and her culture. Each color highlights an inner struggle."

Come see this and many other objects from around the world at the Hudson Museum in the Collins Center for the Arts on the University of Maine campus Monday - Friday 9am - 4pm.

You can learn more about Tiana and her work on her Artist Directory page here: https://umaine.edu/hudsonmuseum/wabanaki-artist-directory/tiana-mary/

You can find out more about this and other Hudson Museum artifacts on our collections page here: https://hudsonmuseum.catalogaccess.com/

04/26/2026

Artifact of the Week: Cap and Collar (HM9805), Hudson Museum Purchase

This beautiful Mi'kmaq style peaked cap and cape collar set was made in 2020 by Paul St. John, Mohawk/Maliseet/Passamaquoddy/Mi'kmaq. The brightly-colored bead work depicts the signature double-curve designs of the Wabanaki, and the shape of the cap - squared at the bottom - is specific to the style worn by Mi'kmaq women.

This set is now on exhibit in the Decorative Traditions case of the Wabanaki Gallery!Come see this and many other objects from around the world at the Hudson Museum in the Collins Center for the Arts on the University of Maine campus Monday - Friday 9am - 4pm.

You can find out more about this and other Hudson Museum artifacts on our collections page here: https://hudsonmuseum.catalogaccess.com/

04/19/2026

Artifact of the Week: Print (HM8662), Timothy C. Wilson Collection

New Generation by Marvin Oliver, Quinault/Isleta Pueblo, 1977, 167/395.

In 2002, Marvin Oliver (1946-2019) was a Visiting Libra Professor of Diversity at UMaine, who taught, “Two Dimensional Art of the Northwest Coast Indian." Oliver is renowned for his prints, which combine northern formline design with southern Coast Salish imagery.

This piece is featured in a new exhibit - Two Different Paths: Indigenous Art and Colonizer Depictions - now on display in the Minsky Culture Lab!

This object is on Exhibit! Come see this and many other objects from around the world at the Hudson Museum in the Collins Center for the Arts on the University of Maine campus Monday - Friday 9am - 4pm.

You can find out more about this and other Hudson Museum artifacts on our collections page here: https://hudsonmuseum.catalogaccess.com/

04/12/2026

Artifact of the Week: Paleolithic Tools (HM5011, HM5017), Donated in memory of George F. Snell, Jr.

This week we are featuring two of the oldest objects in our collections - stone tools collected by George F Snell, Jr in France during WWII between 1944 - 1946 and donated to the Hudson Museum in the 1980s. HM5017 has been identified as a Mousterian flaked knife - a tool that would have been used by Neanderthals between 160,000 and 40,000 years ago. HM5011 is even older - Acheulean hand axes such as this were used by Homo erectus up to 2 million years ago!

Each year the Hudson Museum hosts a free Archaeology Day event for area middle- and high-school students. During their visit to campus, students have the opportunity to talk with UMaine archaeologists, visit Hudson Museum facilities, and tour archaeology labs and collection areas. We have some openings for classes remaining - so be sure to tell any teachers you think may be interested. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis, so register early: https://umaine.edu/hudsonmuseum/event/archaeology-day-2026/

Come see objects from around the world at the Hudson Museum in the Collins Center for the Arts on the University of Maine campus Monday - Friday 9am - 4pm.

You can find out more about this and other Hudson Museum artifacts on our collections page here: https://hudsonmuseum.catalogaccess.com/

Address

5746 Collins Center For The Arts
Orono, ME
04469

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 3pm
Tuesday	10am - 3pm
Wednesday	10am - 3pm
Thursday	10am - 3pm
Friday	10am - 3pm

Telephone

+12075811904

Website

http://www.umaine.edu/hudsonmuseum/

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