Hong Kong: a Cantonese lady. Photograph by John Thomson, 1869-1871.

A young woman, in plain raiment, standing with her hands clasped before her, in a makeshift studio setting. The photograph was taken in an artist's studio (cf. Thomson's negative number 789; Wellcome Library no. 19840i). The simple backdrop includes a table covered with embroidered Chinese cloth; on the side are examples of European-style furniture and two candlesticks. The young woman was probably an artist's model, or a customer who was having her portrait painted when Thomson visited the studio