Anas erythrorhyncha (Red-billed teal) Possibly 1777 - 1786

This watercolor on paper depicts a Red-billed teal and was made by Robert Jacob Gordon sometime before 1795. Gordon was a Dutch explorer, soldier, and naturalist, who spent much of his life in South Africa when it was a Dutch colony. Although the study of natural history was gaining popularity among European and American intellectuals, Gordon's drawings are especially interesting for their connection to colonialism and the development of natural science. This seemingly neutral image of a duck becomes politically charged when we consider how images of foreign places and people were used to classify them. It invites us to think about the relationship between art, science, and power. To understand this work more fully, we might want to research the history of Dutch colonialism in South Africa, as well as the development of natural history as a scientific discipline. This work, like all art, is deeply embedded in its historical context.