Editing Umbrella (section)

==== Ancient Egypt ====

[[File:Hatshepsut temple4 b.jpg|thumb|[[Relief]] of an Egyptian parasol. These were used as sunshade and fan alike ([[flabellum]]).]]

The earliest known parasols in [[Ancient Egyptian art]] date back to the [[Fifth Dynasty]], around 2450 BC.<ref name="White Muscarella 1999, 1">[[Oscar White Muscarella|White Muscarella, Oscar]] (1999): "Parasols in the Ancient Near East", "Source: Notes in the History of Art", Vol. 18, No. 2, pp.&nbsp;1–7 (1)</ref> The parasol is found in various shapes. Typically it is depicted as a [[flabellum]], a fan of [[Palm tree|palm]]-leaves or coloured feathers fixed on a long handle, resembling those now carried behind the [[Pope]] in processions.<ref name="sangster"/> [[Gardiner Wilkinson]], in his work on Egypt, has an engraving of an Ethiopian princess travelling through Upper Egypt in a chariot; a kind of umbrella fastened to a stout pole rises in the centre, bearing a close affinity to what are now termed chaise umbrellas.<ref name="sangster"/> According to Wilkinson's account, the umbrella was generally used throughout Egypt, partly as a mark of distinction, but more on account of its useful than its ornamental qualities.<ref name="sangster"/> In some paintings on a temple wall, a parasol is held over the figure of a god carried in procession.<ref name="sangster"/>