In Tangiers. “- Sublime Majesty... the Spanish are coming... in order to frighten them off I took the liberty to fully open your umbrella as a sign of your greatness! - Leave me alone with my umbrella, Belboul.... I would rather like to have an umbrella p

In its original French, the caption of this caricature is a play on words that utilizes the similarity in sound between “parasol” and the phrase “pare-à-balle,” meaning “to ward off bullets.” Daumier never travelled outside of Europe, and he made little effort to depict the Moroccan sultan or his servants realistically. The sultan’s outfit is therefore inspired by sources such as Orientalist paintings by his friend Eugène Delacroix and descriptions of caliphs from the popular Arabian Nights.