Khoikhoi man smoking a pipe Possibly 1778

Robert Jacob Gordon made this watercolor of a Khoikhoi man smoking a pipe. The materials are those of a European artist of the late 18th century, and the process is one of observation and documentation. Yet the image shows a person whose ornaments - from the headpiece and necklaces to the bands at his waist and ankles - are all handmade. The combination of these refined, skillfully constructed objects with European watercolor creates a stark contrast. The very act of depicting this Khoikhoi man is loaded with the power dynamics of colonialism, since European observers frequently created images of Indigenous people to claim their territory. While we cannot know what the artist intended, we can recognize the skill and labor embedded in the Khoikhoi man's adornments, a testament to a culture far removed from the burgeoning industrialism of Europe. Let's appreciate that juxtaposition, thinking about the human ingenuity behind all forms of making, whether art or craft.