A woman with an elaborate hairstyle, wearing an embroidered jacket with long wide sleeves. She is seated, posed to the left, looking to the front, against a light-toned background. Thomson was fascinated by the different types of female coiffure in China. This coiffure worn by a married Manchu lady was a trademark Manchu hairstyle in the late Qing. It required the hair to be wrapped up in an elaborate triangular pattern around a wood, ivory or metal fillet fastened behind the head. When completed, a coiffure extended out at the back as well as to both sides. Flowers or tassels were often attached to the coiffure to make it more impressive.
This is one of a collection of original glass negatives made by John Thomson. The negatives, made between 1868 and 1872, were purchased from Thomson by Sir Henry Wellcome in 1921.
