Modern West Lake Silk Umbrella with Painted Peking Opera Facial Makeup

With a black wood ferrule in the shape of the stone pagoda in “Three Pools Mirroring the Moon”, one of the ten most beautiful scenes of the West Lake, this umbrella has a black georgette canopy embellished with 93 Peking Opera facial makeups, situated in three rows. There is also an oval seal of “discretion” and a traditional frog-shaped buckle on the canopy. In addition to a wood shaft and a black wood handle, this umbrella is also equipped with bamboo stretchers that are decorated with silk threads in yellow, blue and red.
Originated in the 1930s, the bamboo-rib and silk-canopy West Lake silk umbrellas, named after the West Lake sceneries on the canopy, has evolved into one of the most important traditional crafts of Hangzhou.