The woman is depicted sitting on a low bench. She is shown in full face with a three-quarters turn to the left. She is dressed in a blue knee-length robe with a long white robe underneath. She is wearing black fabric shoes. Her hair is grey; it is gathered up into a bun and pinned with a hairpin in the form of a bee. There is a round earring in her ear and a thin yellow bracelet on her left hand. The woman is unwinding the thread from the spindle. The strands of thread are hanging on the rack. The etching comes from the album "Chinese Customs and National Costumes", which includes 60 images of Chinese people engaged in various activities. An explanation in German accompanies each image; some 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.