Nomadic tribe with their possessions laden on an ox Possibly 1777 - 1786

Curator: Here we have Robert Jacob Gordon's "Nomadic tribe with their possessions laden on an ox," a drawing that likely dates between 1777 and 1786. Editor: My first thought is just how incredibly rendered it all is; so much detail in the faces and clothing, really brings this little scene to life. There's something so human about it, the little children on the ox—makes me wonder what their lives were like, their work and their play, carrying all they had on their backs, literally. Curator: Absolutely. Gordon, being a military man, was obviously captivated by the indigenous communities he encountered. His rendering is less cold record and more... almost like a novel. Editor: Yes, though the landscape work feels a bit like backdrop, and the human figures very firmly up front. He was clearly using on-site work in ink to record and then, I suspect, painting these in a more involved studio process afterward, focusing especially on people. What type of labor did they engage in for Gordon, and what was traded, offered, or exchanged, for modeling in such detail for his images? Curator: A keen insight. What this piece might tell us, I suspect, is about travel—perhaps Gordon attempting to capture this nomadic life on the go, maybe with plein-air notes completed on site to be worked later into the finished article. And yes, you are correct in intuiting labor conditions. Gordon kept meticulous notes about many aspects of colonial economics but we cannot assume informed consent regarding artistic representation even if there was compensation for time given to the labor. Editor: It also feels almost cinematic, like a frame from a film that doesn't exist, like Gordon's just captured the quiet moment of nomadic procession for us. Even their scant apparel reads as craft labor: so much textile work at play, alongside woodworking of various types—ox cart, staffs, spear handles. Curator: Right. It offers a valuable peek into both artistic practice, cultural material, and life during this period of encounter. So the charm for me stems not just from that life captured on paper, but also how those encounters get constructed, visualized and eventually sold on in markets across Europe. Editor: Indeed. Material realities shape all aspects of both Gordon's experience and this tribe. Curator: A moment captured, freighted with cultural, social, and artistic exchange. Profound when you sit and just think what might really be in motion!