The image of a man depicted in profile is turned to the right. The man in a blue shirt and the gray short pants stands barefoot at the square table with the cotton on it. The man's head is shaved and twined around with a thin braid. A curved bar is tied to the man's waist along the back. A spinning comb is attached to the other end of the bar with a rope. The man holds a spindle in his left hand. The etching comes from the album "Chinese Customs and National Costumes", which includes 60 images of Chinese people engaged in various activities. Each image is accompanied by an explanation in German; some of them are written in French. In the eighteenth century, artists in Canton (Guangzhou) in southern China created such paintings for Europeans seeking to learn more about China and its people.