Parasol

Fortis

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Carriage parasols were popularized by Queen Victoria in the 1840s and continued to be popular through the nineteenth century. They were distinguished for their size and carried as decorative accessories which served some function of shading the face from the sun, as close-fitting fashionable hats at that time did not. The claw and ball motif found on the handle was also a popular motif in furniture legs of the Queen Anne and Chippendale styles. It is a representation of a bird's claw grasping a ball and is thought to be derived from the Chinese dragon's claw holding a crystal ball or jewel.

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