Secrets of the Umbrella, a History in Fashion and Design

My purpose and intent of this exhibit is to showcase the umbrella and to present the signifcance it has had in our history. 

Today the umbrella is of no importance or relevance in our lives. We have no thought of umbrellas in history because they are not spoken of. We have seen the umbrella in China pictured with women in their kimono's and we have seen umbrella's in movies such as Mary Poppins and Singing in the Rain, but we have never thought about why it was used during that time period in history. We only thought of it as a device we use when it rains. Yet the umbrella dates back to Ancient Egypt, which is fascinating. Umbrellas have appearances in many places, you do not have to look very hard to find them, often they are right in front of you. 

I envision that when you are looking at artifacts, images, and objects and you see an umbrella in it, that you will think about its relevance in that picture during that time. Ask yourself these questions: Why is it there? What was its relevance? Did it denote a status?  I am confident you will learn a fascinating story.

While exploring the objects in this exhibit I learned how the parasol separated people's class and status. In ancient history, to have a fan or parasol held over your head meant that you were of a higher class such as the Pharaoh Tutankhamun. People who were deemed important usually had someone carrying a parasol or umbrella over their heads. 

In later centuries, the umbrella was used primarily by females. When you see this in images, like the one pictured below of the woman in a garden holding a parasol. Ask yourself questions about who the lady in the image was, what was she using her parasol for, was she important? This is another issue of separation as men did not carry parasols because it was lady like. If they did, they were ridiculed. There was still a separation of the higher and lower classes, those females that had nicer more expensive umbrellas and parasols were using them to make them appear younger as they flirted with males of higher classes in hopes of getting married.  

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