Although in the 1840, the Tanka boatwomen of Macau made up an estimated quarter of the local population, they were discouraged from mixing with the mainland Chinese, who forced them to remain at night on the Praya Pequera, the beach opposite the official 'Hoppo-house'. They were a distinct ethnic class, their feet left unbound and their long hair parted at the front. To the largely male expatriate community they were a female symbol of the China coast. In 1848 Chinnery sent a picture of a demure and smiling Tanka woman to a client as a souvenir. In Chinnery's words 'They were good-natured, pretty-looking young women, and smiled frequently, exhibiting beautiful teeth'. Chinnery knew two of them, Alloy and Assor, and exhibited a portrait of Assor at the Royal Academy in 1844.

The '+' at the start of the inscription signifies Chinnery's satisfaction with his drawing, which is a study for lot 35