Asclepias cancellata or Gomphocarpus cancellatus Burm.f. Bruyns (Cape or Cotton milkweed) c. 1779 - 1781

Robert Jacob Gordon produced this watercolor drawing of Asclepias cancellata, or Cape milkweed, during one of his expeditions in Southern Africa in the late 18th century. Gordon was a complex figure, a Dutch military officer of Scottish descent, who also identified as Afrikaner. He commanded the Dutch garrison at Cape Town and undertook several expeditions into the interior, recording the flora and fauna and also making notes on the indigenous people, the Khoikhoi and San. These drawings are part of a visual inventory undertaken at a time of colonial expansion and scientific exploration. Consider the politics of such an endeavor: who gets to name and classify, and what is the relationship between knowledge and power? Gordon's journals and drawings, now in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, are invaluable resources for understanding the natural history and social dynamics of the Cape at this pivotal moment. Examining these records allows us to reflect on the intertwined histories of colonialism, science, and art.