Umbrella (children's Book)
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An umbrella or parasol is a folding
canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...
supported by wooden or metal ribs that is mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is usually designed to protect a person against
rain Rain is a form of precipitation where water drop (liquid), droplets that have condensation, condensed from Water vapor#In Earth's atmosphere, atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is res ...
. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally used when protecting oneself from rain, while ''parasol'' is used when protecting oneself from sunlight, though the terms continue to be used interchangeably. Often the difference is the material used for the canopy; some parasols are not
waterproof Waterproofing is the process of making an object, person or structure waterproof or water-resistant so that it remains relatively unaffected by water or resists the ingress of water under specified conditions. Such items may be used in wet env ...
, and some umbrellas are transparent. Umbrella canopies may be made of fabric or flexible plastic. There are also combinations of parasol and umbrella that are called ''en-tout-cas'' (French for "in any case"). Generally speaking, parasols and umbrellas are small, handheld, personal use items. Golf umbrellas are the biggest hand-portable umbrellas available. There are two types of umbrellas: completely collapsible umbrellas, which can be folded up into a small enough bag because of the supporting metal pole's ability to retract, and non-collapsible umbrellas, which only have the canopy that can be folded up. Manually operated umbrellas and spring-loaded automatic umbrellas, which open with a button press, can also be distinguished from one another. Hand-held umbrellas have a type of handle which can be made from wood, a plastic cylinder or a bent "crook" handle (like the handle of a cane). Umbrellas are available in a range of price and quality points, ranging from inexpensive, modest quality models sold at
discount store Discount stores offer a retail format in which products are sold at prices that are in principle lower than an actual or supposed "full retail price". Discounters rely on bulk purchasing and efficient distribution to keep down costs. Types (Uni ...
s to expensive, finely made, designer-labeled models. Larger parasols capable of blocking the sun for several people are often used as fixed or semi-fixed devices, used with
patio table Garden furniture, also called patio furniture or outdoor furniture, is a type of furniture specifically designed for outdoor use. It is typically made of weather-resistant materials such as aluminium which is rust-proof. History The oldes ...
s or other outdoor furniture, or as points of shade on a sunny beach.


Etymology

The word ' is a combination of the Latin , and , meaning 'sun'. (French) similarly consists of combined with , which means 'rain' (which in turn derives from , the
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
word for rain); the usage of this word was prevalent in the nineteenth century. (French) consists of combined with , which means 'snow' (which in turn derives from , the
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
word for snow). Hence, a parasol shields from sunlight, a parapluie shields from rain, and a paraneige shields from snow. The word ' evolved from the Latin , meaning 'shaded' or 'shadow'. The
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...
records the first recorded usage in this sense in 1611. In Britain, umbrellas were sometimes referred to as "gamps" after the character Mrs. Gamp in
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
' novel ''
Martin Chuzzlewit ''The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit'' (commonly known as ''Martin Chuzzlewit'') is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, considered the last of his picaresque novels. It was originally serialised between January 1843 and July 1 ...
'' as the character was well known for carrying an umbrella, although this usage is now dated or obsolete. ''Brolly'' is a
slang A slang is a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing and speech. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of pa ...
word for ''umbrella'', used often in Australia, Ireland, Kenya, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. ''Bumbershoot'' is a rare and fanciful Americanism from the late 19th century. A parasol may also be called a sunshade, rainshade, snowshade, or beach umbrella (''US English'').


History


Africa


Ancient Egypt

The earliest known parasols in Ancient Egyptian art date back to the Fifth Dynasty, around 2450 BC. White Muscarella, Oscar (1999): "Parasols in the Ancient Near East", "Source: Notes in the History of Art", Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 1–7 (1) The parasol is found in various shapes. Typically it is depicted as a
flabellum A flabellum (plural flabella), in Christian liturgical use, is a fan made of metal, leather, silk, parchment or feathers, intended to keep away insects from the consecrated Body and Blood of Christ and from the priest, as well as to show hon ...
, a fan of
palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae ** List of Arecaceae genera **Palm oil * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music ...
-leaves or coloured feathers fixed on a long handle, resembling those now carried behind the
Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
in processions.
Gardiner Wilkinson Sir John Gardner Wilkinson (5 October 1797 – 29 October 1875) was an English traveller, writer and pioneer egyptologist of the 19th century. He is often referred to as "the Father of British egyptology". Childhood and education Wilkinso ...
, in his work on Egypt, has an engraving of an Ethiopian princess travelling through Upper Egypt in a chariot; a kind of umbrella fastened to a stout pole rises in the centre, bearing a close affinity to what are now termed chaise umbrellas. According to Wilkinson's account, the umbrella was generally used throughout Egypt, partly as a mark of distinction, but more on account of its useful than its ornamental qualities. In some paintings on a temple wall, a parasol is held over the figure of a god carried in procession.


Ashanti Empire

The exact date when the Ashanti began using umbrellas is uncertain. However, in the 1800s, the Amanhene (senior chiefs) were using large multicolored umbrellas. Umbrellas were used during festivals as streets of Kumasi were paraded with them. Like the
Asantehene The is the title for the monarch of the historical Ashanti Empire as well as the ceremonial ruler of the Ashanti people today. The Ashanti royal house traces its line to the Oyoko (an '' Abusua'', or "clan") Abohyen Dynasty of Nana Twum and ...
's umbrella bearer, the others also spin their umbrellas in tune with the music produced by drummers while accompanying their "Ohene". Umbrellas were also used to provide coolness as well as highlight the importance of the various leaders.


Americas


Mesoamerica

The At district of the
Aztec The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the Post-Classic stage, post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central ...
capital
Tenochtitlan , also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, was a large Mexican in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear, but the date 13 March 1325 was chosen in 1925 to celebrate the 600th annivers ...
was reported to have used an umbrella made from feathers and gold as its ''pantli'', an identifying marker that is the equivalent of a modern flag. The ''pantli'' was carried by the army general.


United States

Beehler Umbrella Factory Beehler Umbrella Factory or Beehler Umbrella House (1828 to 1975) was an umbrella manufacturing company in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1828 by German immigrant Francis Beehler. It was the first umbrella factory in the United States, and e ...
est. 1828 was the first umbrella manufacturing company in the United States. Francis Beehler was a woodcarver in his home country of Germany. After he immigrated to
Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...
, he noticed a lack of umbrellas. Americans generally scorned the devices for their "ridiculous effeminacy". Nevertheless he used his talents in making wooden poles and whale bone ribbed umbrellas to create a new market (steel rib designs would not appear until after 1852). Beehler's success attracted competitors. Baltimore was long recognized as the umbrella capital of the country; at the industry's peak in 1920 there were seven umbrella companies in the city producing millions of umbrellas annually.


Asia


Ancient Near East

The oldest extant example of a parasols appears in the archaeological record around 2310 BC, in a victory stele of
Sargon of Akkad Sargon of Akkad (; ; died 2279 BC), also known as Sargon the Great, was the first ruler of the Akkadian Empire, known for his conquests of the Sumerian city-states in the 24th to 23rd centuries BC.The date of the reign of Sargon is highly unc ...
. In later sculptures at
Nineveh Nineveh ( ; , ''URUNI.NU.A, Ninua''; , ''Nīnəwē''; , ''Nīnawā''; , ''Nīnwē''), was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul (itself built out of the Assyrian town of Mepsila) in northern ...
, the parasol appears frequently.Sangster, William, 1808–1888. ''Umbrellas and Their History''. London: Cassell, Petter, and Galpin
871 __NOTOC__ Year 871 ( DCCCLXXI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * The English retreat onto the Berkshire Downs. The Great Heathen Army, led by the Danish Viking kings Halfdan and ...
br>Available online as Gutenberg etext 6674, retrieved March 2005
.
Austen Henry Layard Sir Austen Henry Layard (; 5 March 18175 July 1894) was an English Assyriologist, traveller, cuneiformist, art historian, draughtsman, collector, politician and diplomat. He was born to a mostly English family in Paris and largely raised in It ...
gives a picture of a
bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...
representing a king in his chariot, with an attendant holding a parasol over his head, dating from c. 710 BC. It has a curtain hanging down behind, but is otherwise exactly like those in use today. It is reserved exclusively for the monarch (who was bald), and is never carried over any other person. In
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
, the parasol is repeatedly found in the carved work of
Persepolis Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...
, and Sir
John Malcolm Major-General Sir John Malcolm GCB, KLS (2 May 1769 – 30 May 1833) was a Scottish soldier, diplomat, East India Company administrator, statesman, and historian. Early life Sir John Malcolm was born in 1769, one of seventeen children of G ...
has an article on the subject in his 1815 "History of Persia." In some sculptures, the figure of a king appears attended by a servant, who carries over his head an umbrella, complete with stretchers and runner. In other sculptures on the rock at Taghe-Bostan, supposed to be not less than twelve centuries old, a deer-hunt is represented, at which a king looks on, seated on a horse, and having an umbrella borne over his head by an attendant.


China

The creation of the umbrella is attributed to the wife of
Lu Ban Lu Ban (–444BC). was a Chinese architect or master carpenter, structural engineer, and inventor, during the Zhou Dynasty. He is revered as the Chinese Deity (Patron) of builders and contractors. Life Lu Ban was born in the state of Lu; a fe ...
, who invented it during the Warring State Period. Some investigators have supposed that its invention was first created by tying large leaves to bough-like ribs (the branching out parts of an umbrella). Others assert that the idea was probably derived from the
tent A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using g ...
, which remains in an unaltered form to the present day. However, the tradition existing in China is that it originated in standards and banners waving in the air, hence the use of the umbrella was often linked to high-ranking (though not necessarily royalty) in China. The use of umbrella as a
social marker A social marker is a discernible sign that gives a clue to a group identity of the person with the marker. It is frequently used by members of elite to indicate their dominant position through appearance, speech, dress, choice of food, and ritual ...
indicating and classifying the identities and social class of its users started by the post- Wei period and continued up to the
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...
. On at least one occasion, twenty-four umbrellas were carried before the emperor when he went out hunting. The umbrella served in this case as a defence against rain rather than sun. The Chinese and Japanese traditional parasol, often used near temples, remains similar to the original ancient Chinese design. The ancient book of Chinese ceremonies, called ''Zhou Li'' (''The
Rites of Zhou The ''Rites of Zhou'' (), originally known as "Officers of Zhou" (), is a Chinese work on bureaucracy and organizational theory. It was renamed by Liu Xin to differentiate it from a chapter in the '' Book of History'' by the same name. To rep ...
''), dating some 2,400 years ago, directs that a dais should be placed upon the imperial cars. The figure of this dais contained in ''Zhou Li'', and the description of it given in the explanatory commentary of Lin-hi-ye, both identify it with an umbrella. The latter describes the dais to be composed of 28 arcs, which are equivalent to the ribs of the modern instrument, and the staff supporting the covering to consist of two parts, the upper being a rod 3/18 of a Chinese foot in circumference, and the lower a tube 6/10 in circumference, into which the upper half is capable of sliding and closing. The ''
Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' is a history of China finished in 111 CE, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. The work was composed by Ban Gu (32–92 CE), ...
'' contains a reference to a collapsible umbrella, mentioning its usage in the year 21 AD when
Wang Mang Wang Mang (45 BCE6 October 23 CE), courtesy name Jujun, officially known as the Shijianguo Emperor (), was the founder and the only emperor of the short-lived Chinese Xin dynasty. He was originally an official and consort kin of the ...
(r. 9–23) had one designed for a ceremonial four-wheeled carriage.Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 2: Mechanical Engineering. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd. Page 70. The 2nd-century commentator
Fu Qian Fu Qian (died late 263) was a Chinese military general of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was a son of Fu Rong. Life Fu Qian was from Yiyang commandery, which is in present-day Xinyang, Henan. His father, Fu Rong, ...
added that this collapsible umbrella of Wang Mang's carriage had bendable joints which enabled them to be extended or retracted.Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 2: Mechanical Engineering. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd. Page 70–71. A 1st century collapsible umbrella has since been recovered from the tomb of Wang Guang at
Lelang Commandery The Lelang Commandery was a Commandery (China), commandery of the Han dynasty established after it had conquered Wiman Joseon in 108 BC and lasted until Goguryeo conquered it in 313. The Lelang Commandery extended the rule of the Four Commande ...
in the
Korean Peninsula Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Dem ...
.Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 2: Mechanical Engineering. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd. Page 71. The Chinese collapsible umbrella may predate Wang's tomb, however.
Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...
bronze castings of complex bronze socketed hinges with locking slides and bolts—which could have been used for parasols and umbrellas—were found in an archeological site of
Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...
, dated to the 6th century BC. A late
Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...
Chinese divination book, ''Book of Physiognomical, Astrological and Ornithomantic Divination according to the Three Schools'' () by Yuan Tianwang (), that was printed in about 1270 AD features a picture of a collapsible umbrella that is exactly like the modern umbrella of today's China. The
oil-paper umbrella An oil-paper umbrella (, ) is a type of paper umbrella that originated in China. It subsequently spread across several East, South and Southeast Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, L ...
also originated in China and was spread among the common people after the
Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
. It started to be introduced in other countries in the
Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...
and eventually spread across several East, South and Southeast Asian countries such as
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
,
Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
,
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
,
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
,
Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
and
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, where it has been further developed with different characteristics.


Ancient India

The
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
epic
Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
relates the following legend:
Jamadagni Jamadagni () is a sage in Hindu literature. He is regarded in Hindu tradition to be one of the Saptarishi (Seven Vedic sages) in the 7th, and the current age of Manvantara.Avalon, Arthur ( Sir John Woodroffe) (1913, reprint 1972) (tr.) ''Ta ...
was a skilled bow shooter, and his devoted wife
Renuka Mahur Renuka, also known as Yellamma Devi, is a Hindu mother goddess venerated predominantly in the South Indian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra. She is regarded as the mother of Parashurama, the six ...
would always recover each of his arrows immediately. One time however, it took her a whole day to fetch the arrow, and she later blamed the heat of the sun for the delay. The angry Jamadagni shot an arrow at the sun. The sun begged for mercy and offered Renuka an umbrella.
Jean Baptiste Tavernier Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605–1689) was a 17th-century French gem merchant and traveler. Tavernier, a private individual and merchant traveling at his own expense, covered, by his own account, 60,000 leagues in making six voyages to Persia ...
, in his 17th century book "Voyage to the East", says that on each side of the Mogul's throne were two umbrellas, and also describes the hall of the King of
Ava Ava or AVA may refer to: Places Asia and Oceania * Ava Kingdom, in upper Burma from 1364 to 1555 ** Inwa, formerly Ava, the capital of Ava Kingdom ** Earl of Ava, a British colonial earldom in Burma * Ava, Iran, Gilan Province, a village * Iva ...
was decorated with an umbrella. The chháta of the Indian and Burmese princes is large and heavy, and requires a special attendant, who has a regular position in the royal household. In Ava it seems to have been part of the king's title, that he was "King of the white elephant, and Lord of the twenty-four umbrellas."


Southeast Asia

Simon de la Loubère, who was Envoy Extraordinary from the French King to the King of
Siam Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
in 1687 and 1688, wrote an account entitled a "New Historical Relation of the Kingdom of Siam", which was translated in 1693 into English. According to his account, the use of the umbrella was granted to only some of the subjects by the king. An umbrella with several circles, as if two or three umbrellas were fastened on the same stick, was permitted to the king alone; the nobles carried a single umbrella with painted cloths hanging from it. The Talapoins (who seem to have been a sort of Siamese monks) had umbrellas made of a palm-leaf cut and folded, so that the stem formed a handle. In 1855 the
King of Burma This is a list of the monarchs of Burma (Myanmar), covering the monarchs of all the major kingdoms that existed in the present day Burma (Myanmar). Although Burmese chronicles, Burmese chronicle tradition maintains that various monarchies of Bur ...
directed a letter to the Marquis of Dalhousie in which he styles himself "His great, glorious, and most excellent Majesty, who reigns over the kingdoms of Thunaparanta, Tampadipa, and all the great umbrella-wearing chiefs of the Eastern countries". The
Royal Nine-Tiered Umbrella The Royal Nine-Tiered Umbrella (: ''Nopphapadon Mahasawettachat'', officially called the Nine-Tiered Great White Umbrella of State) is considered the most sacred and ancient of the royal regalia of Thailand. A royal umbrella (also called a '' ch ...
is one of the royal regalia of Thailand.


Europe

The
Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
Dupljaja chariot, a ceramic sculpture found in Serbia dating from c. 1300 BC (attributed to the Dubovac culture), depicts a male figure, interpreted as a solar deity, standing in a three-wheeled chariot with an attached parasol held above him.


Ancient Greece

Parasols are first attested on pottery shards from the late Mycenaean period ( c. 1320–1190 BC). Ancient umbrellas could be opened and shut, but rigid examples may have also existed. The earliest archaeological evidence for a collapsible umbrella was unearthed in
Samos Samos (, also ; , ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese archipelago, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the Mycale Strait. It is also a separate reg ...
in a context from about 700 BC and follows closely the shape of a slightly older
Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; , ''Phrygía'') was a kingdom in the west-central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. Stories of the heroic age of Greek mythology tell of several legendary Ph ...
n specimen excavated at Gordion. The sliding mechanism of the two pieces is remarkably similar to those in use today. In
Classical Greece Classical Greece was a period of around 200 years (the 5th and 4th centuries BC) in ancient Greece,The "Classical Age" is "the modern designation of the period from about 500 B.C. to the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C." ( Thomas R. Mar ...
, the parasol (''skiadeion'', σκιάδειον), was an indispensable adjunct to a lady of fashion in the late 5th century BC.
Aristophanes Aristophanes (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Ancient Greek comedy, comic playwright from Classical Athens, Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. The majority of his surviving play ...
mentions it among the common articles of female use; they could apparently open and close. Pausanias describes a tomb near Triteia in
Achaia Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaḯa'', ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. The ...
decorated with a 4th-century BC painting ascribed to Nikias; it depicted the figure of a woman, "and by her stood a female slave, bearing a parasol". For a man to carry one was considered a mark of effeminacy. In Aristophanes' ''Birds'',
Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning "forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titans, Titan. He is best known for defying the Olympian gods by taking theft of fire, fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technol ...
uses one as a comical disguise. Cultural changes among the
Aristoi The Aristoi (Greek: ἄριστοι) was the label given to the noblemen in ancient Greek society, and in particular ancient Athens. The term literally means "best", with the denotation of best in terms of birth, rank, and nobility, but also usu ...
of Greece eventually led to a brief period, between 505 and 470 BC, when men used parasols. Vase iconography bears witness to a transition from men carrying swords, then spears, then staffs, then parasols, to eventually nothing. The parasol, at that time of its fashion, displayed the luxury of the user's lifestyle. During the period of their usage, Greek style was inspired by the Persian and Lydian nobility's way of dressing: loose robes, long decorated hair, gold, jewellery, and perfume. It also had religious significance. In the Scirophoria, the feast of Athene Sciras, a white parasol was borne by the
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
esses of the goddess from the
Acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens ...
to the Phalerus. In the feasts of
Dionysos In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ) by the Greek ...
, the umbrella was used, and in an old bas-relief, the same god is represented as descending ''ad inferos'' (towards the
underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...
) with a small umbrella in his hand. In the
Panathenaea The Panathenaea (or Panathenaia) was a multi-day ancient Greek festival held annually in Athens that would always conclude on 28 Hekatombaion, the first month of the Attic calendar.Shear, Julia L. "Hadrian, the Panathenaia, and the Athenian Cale ...
, the daughters of the
Metics In ancient Greece, a metic (Ancient Greek: , : from , , indicating change, and , 'dwelling') was a resident of Athens and some other cities who was a citizen of another polis. They held a status broadly analogous to modern permanent residency, bei ...
, or foreign residents, carried parasols over the heads of Athenian women as a mark of inferiority. During the Panathenaea, daughters of Metics carried the parasols of the Athenian maidens; this service was called ''sciadephoria'' (σκιαδηφορία).


Ancient Rome

From Greece it is probable that the use of the parasol passed to Rome, where it seems to have been usually used by women, while it was the custom even for effeminate men to defend themselves from the heat by means of the ''Umbraculum'', formed of skin or leather, and capable of being lowered at will. There are frequent references to the umbrella in the Roman Classics, and it appears that it was, not unlikely, a post of honour among maid-servants to bear it over their mistresses. Allusions to it are tolerably frequent in the poets. (
Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...
Fast. lib. ii., 1. 31 I.;
Martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman and Celtiberian poet born in Bilbilis, Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of '' Epigrams'', pu ...
, lib. xi., Ch. 73.; lib. xiv, Ch. 28, 130; Ovid Ars. Am., ii., 209). From such mentions the umbrella seems to have been employed as a defense from sun, but references to its use as a protection against rain, while rare, also exist (
Juvenal Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ; 55–128), was a Roman poet. He is the author of the '' Satires'', a collection of satirical poems. The details of Juvenal's life are unclear, but references in his works to people f ...
, ix., 50.). According to Gorius, the umbrella came to Rome from the
Etruscans The Etruscan civilization ( ) was an ancient civilization created by the Etruscans, a people who inhabited Etruria in List of ancient peoples of Italy, ancient Italy, with a common language and culture, and formed a federation of city-states. Af ...
who came to Rome for protection, and certainly it appears not infrequently on Etruscan vases and pottery, as also on later gems and rubies. One gem, figured by Pacudius, shows an umbrella with a bent handle, sloping backwards.
Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...
describes a sort of screen or umbrella worn by Spanish women, but this is not like a modern umbrella.


Middle Ages

By the
fall of the Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire, also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome, was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vast ...
, in the 5th and 6th centuries, the umbrella and parasol were largely forgotten in Europe, for the next few centuries. Beginning in the 8th century, there are numerous contemporary depictions and descriptions of umbrellas and parasols during the remainder of the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, predominantly used in the religious ceremonies of the church. By the 8th century, the umbrella and parasol was firmly established in the church, seen as honorific and symbolic. The earliest visual record is an "8th century image of Bishop John of Pavia, showing him followed by a servant carrying an umbrella." The earliest known written evidence of the parasol is also from the 8th century, when
Pope Paul I Pope Paul I (; 70028 June 767) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the emerging Papal States from 29 May 757 to his death on 28 June 767. He first served as a Roman deacon and was frequently employed by his brother, Pope Stephen II, in negotiat ...
(757-767) bestowed a jeweled parasol to
Pepin the Short the Short (; ; ; – 24 September 768), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian dynasty, Carolingian to become king. Pepin was the son of the Frankish prince Charles Martel and his wife Rotrude of H ...
as part of a peace settlement.


16th century

A 1530 depiction is in
Girolamo dai Libri Girolamo dai Libri (1474/1475 – July 2, 1555) was an Italian illuminator of manuscripts and painter of altarpieces, working in an early Renaissance style. Accademia - Madonna col Bambino e angeli musicanti - Girolamo Dai Libri.jpg, Virgin ...
's painting ''Madonna dell Ombrello'' ("Madonna of the Umbrella"), in which the Virgin Mary is sheltered by a cherub carrying a large, red umbrella (see image). Umbrellas were regarded as marks of distinction for the pope and clergy.


17th century

Thomas Wright, in his ''Domestic Manners of the English'', gives a drawing from the Harleian MS., No. 604, which represents an Anglo-Saxon gentleman walking out attended by his servant, the servant carrying an umbrella with a handle that slopes backwards, so as to bring the umbrella over the head of the person in front. It probably could not be closed, but otherwise it looks like an ordinary umbrella, and the ribs are represented distinctly. The use of the parasol and umbrella in France and England was adopted, probably from China, about the middle of the seventeenth century. At that period, pictorial representations of it are frequently found, some of which exhibit the peculiar broad and deep canopy belonging to the large parasol of the Chinese Government officials, borne by native attendants.
John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diary, diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's Diary, ...
, in his ''
Diary A diary is a written or audiovisual memorable record, with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digita ...
'' for 22 June 1664, mentions a collection of rarities shown to him by "Thompson", a
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
, sent by the
Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
s of Japan and China to France. Among the curiosities were "fans like those our ladies use, but much larger, and with long handles, strangely carved and filled with Chinese characters", which is evidently a description of the parasol. In
Thomas Coryat Thomas Coryat (also Coryate) (c. 15771617) was an English traveller and writer of the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean age. He is principally remembered for two volumes of writings he left regarding his travels, often on foot, through E ...
's '' Crudities'', published in 1611, about a century and a half prior to the general introduction of the umbrella into England, is a reference to a custom of riders in Italy using umbrellas:
And many of them doe carry other fine things of a far greater price, that will cost at the least a duckat, which they commonly call in the Italian tongue umbrellas, that is, things which minister shadowve to them for shelter against the scorching heate of the sunne. These are made of leather, something answerable to the forme of a little cannopy, & hooped in the inside with divers little wooden hoopes that extend the umbrella in a pretty large compasse. They are used especially by horsemen, who carry them in their hands when they ride, fastening the end of the handle upon one of their thighs, and they impart so large a shadow unto them, that it keepeth the heate of the sunne from the upper parts of their bodies.
In
John Florio Giovanni Florio (1552 or 1553 – 1625), known as John Florio, was an English linguist, poet, writer, translator, lexicographer, and royal language tutor at the Court of James I. He is recognised as the most important Renaissance humanist in ...
's "A WORLD of Words" (1598), the Italian word Ombrella is translated
a fan, a canopie. also a testern or cloth of state for a prince. also a kind of round fan or shadowing that they vse to ride with in sommer in Italy, a little shade. Also a bonegrace for a woman. Also the husk or cod of any seede or corne. also a broad spreding bunch, as of fenell, nill, or elder bloomes.
In
Randle Cotgrave Randle Cotgrave was an English lexicographer. In 1611, he compiled and published ''A Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues'', a bilingual dictionary that represented a breakthrough at the time and remains historically important. Life and ...
's ''Dictionary of the French and English Tongues'' (1614), the French Ombrelle is translated
An umbrello; a (fashion of) round and broad fanne, wherewith the Indians (and from them our great ones) preserve themselves from the heat of a scorching sunne; and hence any little shadow, fanne, or thing, wherewith women hide their faces from the sunne.
In
Fynes Moryson Fynes Moryson (or Morison; 1566 – 12 February 1630) was an English writer and secretary. He spent most of the 1590s travelling on the European continent and the eastern Mediterranean lands. He wrote about it later in his multi-volume ''Itiner ...
's ''Itinerary'' (1617) is a similar allusion to the habit of carrying umbrellas in hot countries "to auoide the beames of the Sunne". Their employment, says the author, is dangerous, "because they gather the heate into a pyramidall point, and thence cast it down perpendicularly upon the head, except they know how to carry them for auoyding that danger". During
Streynsham Master Sir Streynsham Master (28 October 1640 – 28 April 1724) was an English colonial administrator who was one of the 17th-century pioneers of the English East India Company. He served as the Agent of Madras from 27 January 1678 to 3 July 1681, ...
's 1676 visit to the
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
's factory in
Masulipatnam Machilipatnam (), also known as Masulipatnam and Bandar (), is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of Krishna district. It is also the mandal headqua ...
he noted that only the governor of the town and the next three officials in seniority were allowed to have "a roundell [i.e. umbrella] carried over them." In France, the umbrella (''parapluie'') began to appear in the 1660s, when the fabric of parasols carried for protection against the sun was coated with wax. The inventory of the French royal court in 1763 mentioned "eleven parasols of taffeta in different colours" as well as "three parasols of waxed ''toile'', decorated around the edges with lace of gold and silver". They were rare, and the word ''parapluie'' ("against the rain") did not enter the dictionary of the Académie française until 1718.


18th and 19th centuries

Kersey's Dictionary (1708) describes an umbrella as a "screen commonly used by women to keep off rain". The first lightweight folding umbrella in Europe was introduced in 1710 by a Paris merchant named Jean Marius, whose shop was located near the barrier of Saint-Honoré. It could be opened and closed in the same way as modern umbrellas and weighed less than one kilogram. Marius received from the King the exclusive right to produce folding umbrellas for five years. A model was purchased by the Princess Palatine in 1712, and she enthused about it to her aristocratic friends, making it an essential fashion item for Parisiennes. In 1759, a French scientist named Navarre presented a new design to the French Academy of Sciences for an umbrella combined with a cane. Pressing a small button on the side of the cane opened the umbrella. Their use became widespread in Paris. In 1768, a Paris magazine reported:
"The common usage for quite some time now is not to go out without an umbrella, and to have the inconvenience of carrying it under your arm for six months in order to use it perhaps six times. Those who do not want to be mistaken for vulgar people much prefer to take the risk of being soaked, rather than to be regarded as someone who goes on foot; an umbrella is a sure sign of someone who doesn't have his own carriage."
In 1769, the Maison Antoine, a store at the Magasin d'Italie on rue Saint-Denis, was the first to offer umbrellas for rent to those caught in downpours, and it became a common practice. The Lieutenant General of Police of Paris issued regulations for the rental umbrellas; they were made of oiled green silk, and carried a number so they could be found and reclaimed if someone walked off with one. By 1808 there were seven shops making and selling umbrellas in Paris; one shop, Sagnier on rue des Vielles-Haudriettes, received the first patent given for an invention in France for a new model of umbrella. By 1813 there were 42 shops; by 1848 there were three hundred seventy-seven small shops making umbrellas in Paris, employing 1400 workers. One of the well-known makers was Boutique Bétaille, which was located at rue Royale 20 from 1880 to 1939. Another was Revel (brand), Revel, based in Lyon. By the end of the century, however, cheaper manufacturers in the Auvergne (region), Auvergne replaced Paris as the centre of umbrella manufacturing, and the town of Aurillac became the umbrella capital of France. The town still produces about half the umbrellas made in France; the umbrella factories there employ about one hundred workers. In Daniel Defoe's ''Robinson Crusoe'', Crusoe constructs his own umbrella in imitation of those that he had seen used in Brazil, covered with skins "so that it cast off the rains like a penthouse, and kept off the sun so effectually, that I could walk out in the hottest of the weather with greater advantage than I could before in the coolest". From this description the original heavy umbrella came to be called "Robinson" for many years in England. Captain James Cook, in one of his voyages in the late 18th century, reported seeing some of the natives of the South Pacific Islands with umbrellas made of palm leaves. In the highlands of Mindanao in the Philippines, the large fronds of ''Dipteris conjugata'' are used as an umbrella. The use of the umbrella or parasol (though not unknown) was uncommon in England during the earlier half of the eighteenth century, as is evident from the comment made by General (then Lieut.-Colonel) James Wolfe, when writing from Paris in 1752; he speaks of the use of umbrellas for protection from the sun and rain and wonders why a similar practice did not occur in England. About the same time, umbrellas came into general use as people found their value and got over the shyness natural to its introduction. Jonas Hanway, the founder of the Magdalen Hospital, has the credit of being the first man who ventured to dare public reproach and ridicule by carrying one habitually in London. As he died in 1786, and he is said to have carried an umbrella for thirty years, the date of its first use by him may be set down at about 1750. John Macdonald (footman), John Macdonald relates that in 1770, he used to be addressed as, "Frenchman, Frenchman! why don't you call a coach?" whenever he went out with his umbrella. By 1788 however they seem to have been accepted: a London newspaper advertises the sale of "improved and pocket Umbrellas, on steel frames, with every other kind of common Umbrella." Since then, the umbrella has come into general use, in consequence of numerous improvements. In China people learned how to waterproof their paper umbrellas with wax and lacquer. The transition to the present portable form is due, partly, to the substitution of silk and gingham for the heavy and troublesome oiled silk, which admitted of the ribs and frames being made much lighter, and also to many ingenious mechanical improvements in the framework. Victorian era umbrellas had frames of wood or baleen, but these devices were expensive and hard to fold when wet. Samuel Fox (industrialist), Samuel Fox invented the steel-ribbed umbrella in 1852; however, the ''Encyclopédie Méthodique'' mentions metal ribs at the end of the eighteenth century, and they were also on sale in London during the 1780s. Modern designs usually employ a Telescoping (mechanics), telescoping steel trunk; new materials such as cotton, plastic film and nylon often replace the original silk.


Modern use

National Umbrella Day is held on 10 February each year around the world. The pocket (foldable) umbrella was invented in Uraiújfalu (Hungary) by the Balogh brothers, whose patent request was admitted in 1923 by the Royal Notary Public of Szombathely. Later on their patent was also approved in Austria, Germany, Belgium, France, Poland, Great Britain and the United States. In 1928, Hans Haupt's pocket umbrellas appeared. In Vienna in 1928, Slawa Duldig, Slawa Horowitz, a student studying sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Akademie der Bildenden Kunste Wien (Academy of Fine Arts), developed a prototype for an improved compact foldable umbrella for which she received a patent on 19 September 1929. The umbrella was called "Flirt" and manufactured by the Austrian company "Brüder Wüster" and their German associates "Kortenbach & Rauh". In Germany, the small foldable umbrellas were produced by the company "Knirps", which became a synonym in the German language for small foldable umbrellas in general. In 1969, Bradford E Phillips, the owner of totes, Totes Incorporated of Loveland, Ohio, obtained a patent for his "working folding umbrella". Umbrellas have also been fashioned into Umbrella Hat, hats as early as 1880 and at least as recently as 1987. Golf umbrellas, one of the largest sizes in common use, are typically around across but can range anywhere from . Transparent umbrellas, often made with plastic or composite materials, were invented in 1958 by Mitsuo Sudou. The transparent umbrellas were popularized as fashion items during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The production had since been relocated to China and other Asian countries and has become ubiquitous on Japanese streets due to its affordability, aesthetics, and ease of access. Umbrellas are now a consumer product with a large global market. As of 2008, most umbrellas worldwide are made in China, mostly in the Guangdong, Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. The city of Shangyu alone had more than a thousand umbrella factories. In the US alone, about 33 million umbrellas, worth $348 million, are sold each year. Umbrellas continue to be actively developed. In the US, so many umbrella-related patents are being filed that the U.S. Patent Office employs four full-time examiners to assess them. As of 2008, the office registered 3000 active patents on umbrella-related inventions. Nonetheless, Totes, the largest American umbrella producer, has stopped accepting unsolicited proposals. Its director of umbrella development was reported as saying that while umbrellas are so ordinary that everyone thinks about them, "it's difficult to come up with an umbrella idea that hasn’t already been done." While the predominant canopy shape of an umbrella is round, canopy shapes have been streamlined to improve aerodynamic response to wind. Examples include the stealth-shaped canopy of Rizotti (1996), scoop-shaped canopy of Lisciandro (2004), and teardrop-shaped canopies of Hollinger (2004). In 2005 Gerwin Hoogendoorn, a Dutch people, Dutch industrial design student of the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, invented an aerodynamically streamlined storm umbrella (similar in shape to a stealth aircraft) which can withstand wind force 10 (winds of up to 100 km/h or 70 mph) and will not turn inside-out like a normal umbrella as well as being equipped with so-called "eye savers" which protect others from being accidentally wounded by the tips. Hoogendoorn's storm umbrella was nominated for and won several design awards, and was featured on Good Morning America. The umbrella is sold in Europe as the Senz umbrella and is sold under license by Totes Isotoner, Totes in the United States. Alan Kaufman's "Nubrella" and Greg Brebner's "Blunt" are other contemporary designs.


Other uses

The umbrella is used in weather forecasting as an icon for rain. Two variations, a plain umbrella (☂, U+2602) and an umbrella with raindrops overhead (☔, U+2614), are encoded in the Miscellaneous Symbols block of Unicode.


In religious ceremony

As a canopy of state, umbrellas were generally used in southern and eastern Europe, and then passed from the imperial court into church ceremony. They are found in the ceremonies of the Byzantine Rite, were borne over the Host (Holy Communion), Host in procession, and form part of the pontificalia, Pontifical regalia.


Catholic Church

An umbrella, the ''ombrellino'' (Italian) or ''umbraculum'' (Latin) is an historic piece of the papal regalia. Although the popes no longer use it personally, it is displayed on the coat of arms of a ''sede vacante'' (the papal arms used between the death of a pope and the election of his successor). This umbraculum is normally made of alternating red and gold fabric, and is usually displayed in a partially unfolded manner. The popes have traditionally bestowed the use of the umbraculum as a mark of honor upon specific persons and places. The use of an umbraculum is one of the honorary symbols of a basilica and may be used in the basilica's coat of arms and carried in processions by the basilica's canon (priest), canons. A large umbrella is displayed in each of the List of basilicas, Basilicas of Rome, and a Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal bishop who receives his Titulus (Roman Catholic), title from one of those churches has the privilege of having an umbrella carried over his head in solemn processions. It is possible that the galero (wide-brimmed cardinal's hat) may derive from this umbrella. Beatiano, an Italian herald, says that "a vermilion umbrella in a field argent symbolizes dominion". Roman Catholic liturgy also uses an umbrella, known as the ''umbraculum'' or ''ombrellino''. It is held over the Sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church, Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist and its carrier by a server in short processions taking place indoors, or until the priest is met at the sanctuary entrance by the bearers of the processional canopy or ''baldacchino''. It is regularly white or golden (the colours reserved for the Holy Sacrament) and made of silk.


Oriental Orthodox Churches

In several Oriental Orthodox Churches, such as the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, umbrellas are used liturgically to show honor to a person (such as a bishop) or a holy object. In the ceremonies of Timkat (Epiphany), priests will carry a model of the Tablets of Stone, called a Tabot, on their heads in procession to a body of water, which will then be blessed. Brightly colored embroidered and fringed liturgical parasols are carried above the Tabota during this procession. Such processions also take place on other major feast days.


In Buddhism

A decorated parasol is ushered over relics and statues of Gautama Buddha, Buddha, scriptures of the Buddhist doctrine and Bhikkhus, as a sign of respect.


In photography

Umbrellas with a reflective inside are used by photographers as a diffusion device when employing artificial lighting, and as a glare shield and shade, most often in portrait situations. Some umbrellas are shoot-through umbrellas, meaning the light goes through the umbrella and is diffused, rather than reflecting off the inside of the umbrella.


As a weapon of attack

In 1835, the Baron Charles Random de Berenger instructed readers of his book ''How to Protect Life and Property'' in several methods of using an umbrella as an improvised weapon against highwaymen. In 1897, journalist J. F. Sullivan proposed the umbrella as a misunderstood weapon in a tongue-in-cheek article for the ''Ludgate Monthly''. Between 1899 and 1902, both umbrellas and walking sticks as self defence weapons were incorporated into the repertoire of Bartitsu. In January 1902, an article in ''The Daily Mirror'' instructed women on how they could defend themselves from ruffians with an umbrella or parasol. During the 2014 Hong Kong protests, sometimes referred to as the "Umbrella Revolution", protesters used umbrellas as shields against the pepper spray and tear gas used by riot police.


Examples of incidents

* In 1978, Bulgarian dissident writer Georgi Markov was killed in London by a dose of ricin injected via a Bulgarian umbrella, modified umbrella. The KGB is widely believed to have developed a modified umbrella that could deliver a deadly pellet. * In 2005, in a well-known case in South Africa, Brian Hahn, associate professor of mathematics and applied mathematics at the University of Cape Town, was beaten to death with an umbrella by ex-doctoral student Maleafisha Steve Tladi. * In 2007, a 23-year-old woman in Rome was killed by another woman in the subway by stabbing through the eye using an umbrella. * In 2019, a priest in Berlin was killed by having an umbrella rammed upward through his open mouth, piercing into his brain.


In arts and entertainment

* The magical nanny Mary Poppins (character), Mary Poppins leaves the Banks home in Cherry Tree Lane, London, with the wind carrying her, by blowing into her opened umbrella. * John Steed, in the 1960s television series ''The Avengers (TV series), The Avengers'', used an umbrella which was also a swordstick. * In the DC Comics, the Penguin (comics), Penguin, an enemy of Batman, sports umbrellas as weapons with machine guns, rocket launchers, flamethrowers, swords, switchblades, acid guns, ray guns, and gas guns. * A high-tech bullet-resistant umbrella is used extensively as a weapon in the film ''Kingsman: The Secret Service'' (2015), by characters Harry Hart (Colin Firth) and Eggsy Unwin (Taron Egerton). * In the ''Kirby (series), Kirby'' video game series, one of Kirby's Copy Abilities, called ''Parasol'', has Kirby using a parasol as a weapon. It is also used to slow Kirby's descent when in the air. * Players use victory reward umbrellas to glide into the battle arena in the video game Fortnite Battle Royale, Fortnite: Battle Royale.


In architecture

In the 1950s Frei Otto transformed the universally used individual umbrella into an item of lightweight architecture. He developed a new umbrella form, based on the minimum surface principle. The tension loaded membrane of the funnel-shaped umbrella is now stretched under the compression-loaded bars. This construction type made it technically and structurally possible to build very large convertible umbrellas. The first umbrellas of this kind (Federal Garden Exhibition, Kassel, 1955) were fixed, Frei Otto constructed the first convertible large umbrellas for the Federal Garden Exhibition in Cologne 1971.Nerdinger, Winfried: ''Frei Otto. Das Gesamtwerk: Leicht Bauen Natürlich Gestalten'', 2005, In 1978 he built a group of ten convertible umbrellas for British rock group Pink Floyd's American tour. The great beauty of these lightweight structures inspired many subsequent projects built all over the world. The largest convertible umbrellas built until now were designed by Mahmoud Bodo Rasch and his team at SL-Rasch to provide shelter from sun and rain for the great mosques in Saudi Arabia.''The Stuttgart School of Building Design''
Later works by the architect Le Corbusier such as Centre Le Corbusier and Villa Shodhan involve a parasol, which served as a roof structure and provided cover from the sun and wind.


In art

Brooklyn Museum - Illustration from Chushingara Series - Utagawa Kunisada I.jpg, Utagawa Kunisada Couple under umbrella in snow.tif, Couple under umbrella in snow, Suzuki Harunobu Parasol.svg, The parasol is one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols of Tibetan Buddhism. Le chancelier Séguier - Charles Le Brun - Musée du Louvre Peintures RF 1942 3.jpg, A painting of Chancellor Pierre Séguier with a parasol hoisted above his head, by Charles Le Brun, 1670 Harunobu Mädchen springt.jpg, Japanese girl jumps from Kiyomizu-dera, Suzuki Harunobu, 1750 File:El Quitasol (Goya).jpg, ''The Parasol'', by Francisco Goya, 1777 Parasolki1883nationalgallerylo.jpg, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Umbrellas, 1883 Claude Monet - Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son - Google Art Project.jpg, Woman with a Parasol – Madame Monet and Her Son, 1875 Édouard Manet - Jeanne (Spring).jpg, Woman with a parasol, by Édouard Manet, 1881 Colin Campbell Cooper, Summer.jpg, Colin Campbell Cooper, Summer, 1918 Victor Gabriel Gilbert Liebevolle Blumenpflege.jpg, Victor Gabriel Gilbert, woman with Japanese parasol, 1933 Statue of George Palmer.jpg, Statue of George Palmer by George Blackall Simmonds, 1891 File:Estátua da Imperatriz Tereza Cristina, Teresópolis (cropped).jpg, Statue of Empress Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies, Teresa Cristina of Brazil. It was erected in 2005 File:Umbrellas at Caudan Waterfront Mall.JPG, Contemporary Street Art in :en:Port Louis, Port Louis, :en:Mauritius, Mauritius File:Michal Negrin - Cool Budapest (10).JPG, Shop decoration in Budapest, 2016 File:Umbrella Project1991 10 27.jpg, The Umbrellas (Christo and Jeanne-Claude), Japan and California, 1991. Two people were killed in separate incidents involving the work.


See also

* Brumbrella * Cocktail umbrella * James Smith & Sons * Oil-paper umbrella *
Royal Nine-Tiered Umbrella The Royal Nine-Tiered Umbrella (: ''Nopphapadon Mahasawettachat'', officially called the Nine-Tiered Great White Umbrella of State) is considered the most sacred and ancient of the royal regalia of Thailand. A royal umbrella (also called a '' ch ...
* The Umbrella Man (song) * Umbraculum * Umbrella hat * Umbrella marketing * Umbrella stand * Umbrella (song)


References


Bibliography

* {{Clothing Umbrellas, Fashion accessories French inventions Protective gear Rain Articles containing video clips