Woman Spooling
1790
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1790
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Dominant colour
Woman Spooling is a 1790 paint by Puqua, a Patna School of Painting work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
A woman in a simple blue robe sits at a wooden reel. Her left hand guides silk thread off a skein frame. Her right hand turns the reel to twist the thread smooth. Light falls on her hands, leaving her face half in shade. This painting comes from a set of 100 works made in Guangzhou. They showed daily life for Europeans curious about China. Every brushstroke picks out tools and cloth textures. See the same careful detail next at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
The painting depicts a woman engaged in the task of spooling silk, part of a set of 100 works illustrating various trades in Canton. She uses her left hand to guide the thread from a skein frame, checking for knots or damage, while her right hand turns a hand-reel clockwise to twist the thread slightly. Created for European audiences curious about China and its people, the work reflects the period's interest in documenting daily life and craftsmanship.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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