Parapluie

In the sculptures at Nineveh the parasol appears frequently. Austen Henry Layard gives a picture of a bas-relief representing a king in his chariot, with an attendant holding a parasol over his head. It has a curtain hanging down behind, but is otherwise exactly like those in use today. It is reserved exclusively for the monarch, and is never carried over any other person. In Persia the parasol is repeatedly found in the carved work of Persepolis, and Sir John Malcolm 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, with stretchers and runner complete. 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.

Design

The device varies in size and shape, but its design is fundamentally the same: stick (or pole ) supports central articulated rods (the whales ) through a sliding ring (or flowing ). When the ring is in the down position, the whales are completely flattened along the mast, when the ring is raised, the whales are deployed and blood behind the canvas in a circle around the pole.

The number of whales ranges from four (square umbrellas for use on outdoor markets) to eight or ten in general for umbrellas. They are distributed at regular intervals on the periphery of the mast.

Of umbrellas and parasols, the central rod has a handle at its lower end for better grip.

use umbrellas is rather stationary, the lower end of their mast is generally designed to s fitting it to a support or to be planted in the ground, so that a stroke of wind can not win.

Umbrella

An umbrella or parasol (also called a brolly, rainshade, sunshade, gamp or bumbershoot) is a canopy designed to protect against rain or sunlight. The term parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun; umbrella refers to a device more suited to protect from rain. Often the difference is the material; some parasols are not waterproof. Parasols are often meant to be fixed to one point and often used with patio tables or other outdoor furniture. Umbrellas are almost exclusively hand-held portable devices; however, parasols can also be hand-held.

The word umbrella comes from the Latin word umbra, meaning shade or shadow (the Latin word, in turn, derives from the Ancient Greek ómbros [όμβρος].) Brolly is a slang word for umbrella, used often in Britain, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and Kenya. Bumbershoot is a fanciful Americanism from the late 19th century.