The earliest known umbrellas appear in ancient Egyptian art from around 2450 BC, usually as a palm-leaf fan on a long pole. In Assyrian reliefs from about 710 BC, an umbrella shelters the king in his chariot, and it was reserved for the monarch alone. In Persia, umbrellas appear in the carvings at Persepolis, and in China the ritual text Zhou Li describes a dais built like an umbrella with 28 ribs. A collapsible umbrella was in use in China in 21 AD. Across Asia the oil-paper umbrella spread from China to Japan and Southeast Asia. Using umbrellas as a sign of rank was common in many courts, which is why they were so closely tied to royalty.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.