Umbrellas and their History | Page 3

obvious, being
almost ignored in those countries whence it derives its being, since it

was as a protection against the scorching heat of the sun that it was first
used. The Parasol, then, or Umbrella--since for all practical purposes
the two are really identical--dates from the earliest ages, some
commentators on the Bible fancying they can discover it in places
where a shade protecting from the sun is mentioned. This is not
unlikely, but it is certain that the Parasol has been in use from a very
early period.
Chinese history goes a very long way back, inasmuch as it places the
invention of these elegant machines many thousand years anterior to
the Mosaic date of the world's creation. Their antiquity among the
Hindoos is more satisfactorily proved by the following passage from
the dramatic poem of S'akuntâla, the date of which is supposed to be
the 6th century of the Christian era:--
("The cares of supporting the nation harass the sovereign, while he is
cheered with a view of the people's welfare, as a huge Umbrella, of
which a man bears the staff in his own hand, fatigues while it shades
him. The sovereign, like a branching tree, bears on his head the
scorching sunbeams, while the broad shade allays the fever of those
who seek shelter under him.")
The origin of the Parasol is wrapped in considerable obscurity. Some
profound investigators have supposed that large leaves tied to the
branching extremities of a bough suggested the first idea of the
invention. Others assert that the idea was probably derived from the
tent, which remains in form unaltered to the present day. Dr. Morrison,
however, tells us that the tradition existing in China is, that the San,
which signifies a shade for sun and rain, originated in standards and
banners waving in the air. As this is a case in which we may quote the
line--"Who shall decide when doctors disagree?"--we may with safety
assume that all are in the right, and that the Parasol owed its origin to
all or any of the above-mentioned fortuitous circumstances.
In the Ninevite sculptures the Umbrella or Parasol appears frequently.
Layard gives a picture of a bas-relief representing a king in his chariot,
with an attendant holding an Umbrella over his head. It has a curtain
hanging down behind, but is otherwise exactly like those in use at the

present time, the stretchers and sliding runner being plainly represented.
To quote the words of that indefatigable traveller:--
"The Umbrella or Parasol, the emblem of royalty so universally
accepted by eastern nations, was generally carried over the king in time
of peace, and sometimes even in time of war. In shape it resembled,
very closely, those in common use; but it is always open in the
sculptures. It was edged with tassels, and was usually ornamented at
the top by a flower or some other ornament. On the later bas-reliefs, a
long piece of embroidered linen or silk falling from one side like a
curtain, appears to screen the king completely from the sun. The
parasol was reserved exclusively for the monarch, and is never
represented as borne over any other person."
In Egypt again, the Parasol is found in various shapes. In some
instances it is depicted as a flabellum, a fan of palm-leaves or coloured
feathers fixed on a long handle, resembling those now carried behind
the Pope in processions. Sir Gardner Wilkinson, 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. To judge from 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.
The same author is rather doubtful whether, in the picture given by him
of a military chief in his chariot, the frame which an attendant holds up
behind the rider is a shield or a screen, but the latter is the more
probable supposition, as it has all the appearance of an Umbrella
without the usual handle. In some paintings on a temple wall, an
Umbrella is held over the figure of a god carried in procession, and
altogether we may, perhaps, consider it decided, beyond dispute, that
the Umbrella in its modern shape was used in Egypt. [Footnote: To
silence captious critics, who may find fault with the designs of our
artist, we may once for all remark that an idealised conception of the
figures only is given. The style of the ancient draughtsmen was by no
means so perfect that we, who live in a more civilised age, should be

entirely fettered by their conceptions, and the