Woman in Western costume

A woman in Western dress wearing a broad-brimmed hat is shown seated on a Chinese rock, carrying a hoe and a basket of flowers. This image is based upon those of Western shepherdesses found in reverse glass paintings of the late 1700s that were meant for Western markets. The shepardess's crook has, however, been transformed into a hoe. The image of the shepherdess here also contains elements from the appearance of the character Lin Daiyu in the novel Dream of the Red Chamber; Lin Daiyu is often shown in the act of burying flowers.