Orbea verucosa (Masson) L.C. Leach. (Hirsute stapelia) Possibly 1777 - 1786

Robert Jacob Gordon created this watercolor of an Orbea verucosa, or hirsute stapelia. Gordon was a Dutch explorer, military officer, and naturalist of Scottish descent, serving in the Dutch East India Company. As we consider this botanical illustration, think about the historical context of its creation. Gordon, working for the Dutch East India Company, was part of a vast colonial project. He was mapping, naming, and classifying the natural world in service of economic and political expansion. His drawings, while seemingly objective, reflect a Eurocentric view of nature and knowledge. The act of naming itself is an assertion of control, a way of possessing the land and its resources. Gordon’s identity as a European in Africa shaped how he saw and documented the environment. Consider the power dynamics inherent in this encounter, the way scientific exploration was intertwined with colonial power.