Parasol

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This style of parasol is the ultimate in frivolity and fancifulness. The particularly special element is the lovely carved hand on the spike. Carriage parasols were ostensibly used to shade the wearer from the sun and they were initiated by Queen Victoria in the 1840s when riding in open carriages began. This parasol purportedly belonged to a member of the royal family of Austria during Franz-Joseph's reign (1830-1916), emperor of Austria from 1848-1916.

The Costume Institute

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Costume Institute's collection of more than thirty-three thousand objects represents seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories for men, women, and children, from the fifteenth century to the present.

Metropolitan Museum of Art