What shape did Leonardo da Vinci give his 1485 parachute concept?

Leonardo da Vinci gave his 1485 parachute concept a pyramidal shape.

His sketch shows a rigid wooden frame supporting a large linen canopy. Leonardo wrote that a person could jump from a height while enclosed beneath the structure and land safely, assuming the device was sufficiently broad and deep. The design is often described as an early parachute concept rather than a practical, tested parachute.

The pyramid shape is important because it distinguishes Leonardo’s proposal from modern round or ram-air parachutes. It also differs from a cone: the canopy was intended to have four triangular sides and a square base. In 2000, British skydiver Adrian Nichols built and tested a replica based on Leonardo’s drawing, although he used modern materials and released the device after descending to a safer altitude. Leonardo’s design therefore belongs to the history of flight ideas, not to the invention of the modern parachute.