Bathyergus suillus (Cape dune mole-rat) Possibly 1778

Here is the audio guide script: Robert Jacob Gordon rendered this Cape dune mole-rat with ink and watercolor, capturing not just its form but also its essence. Note its subterranean existence, a life spent burrowing, a creature of the earth. Throughout history, animals that dwell underground have been symbolically linked to hidden knowledge, the subconscious, and the chthonic forces. The mole, in particular, appears in various myths as a guide through the underworld, a keeper of secrets. Think of the ancient mystery cults, where initiates sought hidden truths by mimicking the earth's creatures. The mole's blindness, too, is a recurring motif. Homer, for example, describes the cyclops Polyphemus as 'blinded', a metaphor for a lack of inner sight. Perhaps this speaks to a deeper human fear: that true wisdom lies beyond the realm of sight, in the darkness of the mind. The image of the mole-rat invites contemplation on the cyclical nature of existence, the unseen forces that shape our world, and the hidden currents of cultural memory that course beneath the surface.