This scene is typical of the pastoral and narrative scenes printed on cotton textiles in the late 18th century in various centres of cotton printing across northern Europe. This cotton was printed at the most famous of these factories, the one established in 1760 by Christopher-Philippe Oberkampf (1738-1815) at Jouy-en-Josas, a village propitiously situated between Paris and Versailles, the main residences of the French court - and the most desired and likely market for these furnishing textiles. By 1783 the firm was so highly regarded that Louis XV named it a Royal Manufacture. Its reputation lasted well beyond its closure in 1843,

Although Jouy is best known for its copper-plate printed cottons, it also produced block-printed textiles throughout its existence. Oberkampf patronised fine artists but also employed in-house designers who made simple patterns and adapted work from engravings or paintings. The basis of this design is an engraving made by Pierre Aveline around 1730 after a painting made by Antoine Watteau in 1708 and entitled The Toper. The original painting had been produced as a decorative panel for the Hotel de Nointel in Paris.