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Depicts naval officers drinking and dining in the Elephanta Caves, near present-day Mumbai. Porcher may have looked to models such as 'The Temple of Elephanta': line engraving by James Phillips after painting by James Wales, based on an original drawing by James Forbes (Published London, 1790). Porcher's signature appears on the bottom left corner.

Porcher's image (or another version of it) was adapted for publication in the Illustrated London News, October 4, 1851, which reported an "Attack on Chinese Pirates by the Boats of Her majesty's Ship 'Cleopatra,'" (402). On June 24th, the Superintendent of the police received news that fishermen at Mir's Bay had been attacked by a fleet of junks led by "Shap-'ng-tchi" (Shap-ng-tsai, the infamous pirate). Captain Massie of the Cleopatra ordered the barge, cutter, and pinnace (manned by Porcher and Hon. C. Crofton) armed and deployed. When the pirate junks were sighted near Bias Bay, a five hour chase ensued.

As Porcher notes in his diary, Amoy (today called Xiamen) was the most important harbor in the province of Fujian and was dominated by foreign trade at the turn of the 18th century. The island of Kulang Su (Gulangyu), on the western side of Xiamen's harbor, was once occupied by British troops after the capture of the city in 1841 until it was restored to Chinese in 1845 (Nield 99). Its five British batteries are still visible in Porcher's view. In his diary, he expounds the strategic advantages of this location: "In case of another misunderstanding with the Chinese the island of Kulang-su would be well adapted for a settlement, the channel between it and Amoy being only 672 yards wide – the ridge of hills on the island being higher than those opposite. There are two distinct ridges which might be separately defended, the highest point being 280 feet above the sea. The island is principally granite, and the soil being formed of it in a decomposed state…. Fresh water from wells are plentiful, and artificial channels conduct it to boats" (53).

Whampoa was the way-station between Macau and Canton before the institution of the treaty port system. It was a popular subject among European and Chinese export artists, as foreign ships would anchor there before sending goods on smaller boats to Canton. A typical merchant ship's journey up the Pearl River Delta would first dock at Macau, then to Lintin Island, then travelling onwards through the estuary of the Bocca Tigris (Human), finally anchoring at Whampoa. In 1844, Chinese authorities proposed rules to prevent smuggling via Portuguese lorchas, requiring they bear registration numbers and report for examination. Lorchas had been involved in the importation of cannon for native insurgents and sometimes passed themselves off as British (Perdue, n.p.).

This view of Manila shows daily life in the bustling port city. The bridge is in the district of Binondo, an enclave of ethnic Chinese and the main commercial center amongst Chinese mestizos and Spanish Filipinos (Abinales 79).

On September 12, 1851, the HMS Dolphin was attacked in Maladu Bay by Illanun pirates. Captain Robertson and Supercargo Robert Burns (grandson of the poet) and the crew were murdered by pirates from Tunku. In response, the Cleopatra, Semiramis and Pluto were dispatched from Singapore on January 10th and arrived at Labuan by the 20th, sailing on to Mengatal to hold a meeting with local ruler Pangeran Madand about bartering with the Iranun (Illanun) Pirates and providing them a boat. A "Mr. Melrum" accompanied the diplomatic party to negotiate the repayment of a debt (see Porcher's diary, page 30). Porcher depicts the British crews firing a salute upon arrival at the Pangeran Madand's village.

The island of Labuan was taken possession by the British in 1846, and proposed as a British base against piracy in the South China Sea. It became a crown colony in 1848. Porcher indicates that the island's most important product was coal, and describes at length the island's position, crops, cultivation and harbor (diary 20-28). He also includes a detailed map of Labuan.

The incident Porcher depicts was reported in the Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1852 (222-223). Porcher and the crew of the Cleopatra, Pluto and Semiramis were traveling up the Tunku river in pursuit of the Illanun [Iranun] pirates responsible for the murder of the HMS Dolphin's crew (see "25. Official visit of the Boats of the Cleopatra to the Pangeran Madoud's house"). When they arrived at the residence of Rajah Muda, marines and armed men landed to find white flags hoisted on the roof of the houses. Porcher reports: "In retaliation for their having fired at us the day before, when white flags were flying, both at the Chief's house, and also in our boats, about 40 houses were burned, and the little property that was found in them destroyed, as well as their paddy, fruit trees, etc." (34). The pirates returned fire again, killing one man and wounding two others. Porcher continues with a detailed description of the Iranun pirates from Mindanao, who were known for murdering crews of vessels "except those they are able to sell as slaves". The entire landscape is frenetic with action; figures are hiding behind foliage with guns, while gunfire issues from the British vessels in the river.

Penang, an island off the coast of the Malaysian Peninsula, was first occupied by the British East India Company in 1786, and became a British 'Straits Settlement" along with Province Wellesley, Malacca and Singapore when the Anglo-Dutch Treaty (1824) brought these under the administration of the British East Company. It became an important trading center under the British, its commercial architecture dotting the shoreline of Porcher's watercolor.