Painting

This painting is from a set of 11 depicting women playing different kinds of Chinese musical instruments. It shows a woman simultaneously playing a small drum and castanets, watched by her young companion. Artists in Canton (Guangzhou), in southern China, made such paintings for Europeans eager to find out more about China and its people. From the 18th century Canton was the principal – and later the only – trading port at which Europeans were permitted to buy Chinese goods.