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Ghafarpouri S, Samanian S. (2025). Archaeology of the Female-Faced Sun in Persian Artworks. Athar. 45(107), 105-130. doi:10.22034/45.107.4
URL: http://athar.richt.ir/article-2-1858-en.html

Abstract
The appearance of the sun motif in Persian art has a long history. Due to cultural-ritual functions, it was common to depict the sun on artworks and monuments, like many other motifs. Meanwhile, the appearance of gender in the sun, while almost all other visual elements in Persian art are genderless, is considered a different, problematic, and ambiguous situation for depicting the sun. According to the artworks in museums and private collections, before the Qajar period, the sun was also depicted with a female face. The frequency of its depiction in this way, especially in the Qajar period, is so high that the term "Khorshid Khanum" has become a common name for it. So, the motif turned to a visual-cultural discourse. The importance of this art-subject discourse has led this research to be conducted to answer the question of when the motif appeared in Persian art. This research aims to determine the point of origin of the motif and to identify the discursive formations surrounding it. The required data were collected from library written sources and visual sources available in museums, and the research was conducted in a historical-analytical method by a Foucaultian archaeological approach. The results show that the presence of the female sun-type motif in Persian art and neighboring cultures is linked to the image of sacred goddesses and can specifically evoke the evolved discourse of the motif of the Mother Goddess.
Key words: Foucaultian Archeology, Genealogy, Female sun, Lion and Sun, Goddess.

Introduction 
This research explores the historical and visual representation of the sun with a feminine face, referred to as the “Sun Lady” (Khorshid Khanum), within Persian art. The most recent visual traces of the sun appear during the Second Pahlavi era, particularly on flags and coins, where a faceless sun rises behind a lion holding a sword. However, earlier artworks, particularly from the Qajar period, depict the sun with a distinctly feminine face, characterized by round facial features, continuous eyebrows, large black eyes with a direct gaze, small lips, side-swept hair, and occasionally blushed cheeks. This stylized image, often replicated in various artworks of the time, has given rise to a visual-cultural discourse around the “female sun.”
Such feminine depictions were not limited to the Qajar period. They also appear in Safavid and Mongol era artworks, embedded within ritual and cultural symbolism. The gendered representation of the sun stands out in Iranian visual culture, which is generally marked by gender-neutral motifs. This anomaly raises questions about the origin and evolution of the image within cultural and artistic contexts.
Employing a historical-analytical methodology and drawing on Michel Foucault's archaeological approach—part of his broader genealogical theory—this study seeks to trace the emergence and development of this motif. Archaeology, in this context, involves a return to the historical "zero point" of the motif's appearance, before it was conceptualized in cultural memory. Unlike genealogy, which examines how non-discursive elements affect discursive practices, archaeology focuses on the identification and transformation of discourses over time.
Data for this research were gathered through documentary methods, including library resources and online museum archives. Visual data were curated from museum websites and collections, selecting 25 representative samples that embody the characteristic features of the Sun Lady. The samples span various historical centuries, offering a cross-temporal perspective on the motif’s continuity and transformation. Each sample includes typical traits of the feminine sun—round face, soft features, symmetrical composition, highlighting its persistence and visual codification across periods.
Ultimately, this study aims not to uncover the meaning of the motif itself, but to chart its discursive trajectory within Iranian visual culture. It contributes to understanding how a unique gendered symbol has persisted, evolved, and acquired interpretative layers over time.

Findings and Discussion
This study examines the recurring motif of the sun with a feminine face in Persian art, exploring its visual continuity and historical transformations. Despite its symbolic complexity, the motif consistently displays feminine features, prompting a historical-analytical investigation grounded in Michel Foucault’s archaeological method. Rather than interpreting meanings, this method seeks the “zero degree” or origin of visual phenomena by tracing their emergence and transformation across time.
The research identifies visual consistencies by comparing artifacts such as an Elamite bronze pin with a Qajar-era tile from the shrine of Shah Abdul Azim. Both images share core feminine characteristics, though the former presents a more abstract form and the latter a realistic evolution. This visual continuity suggests a discursive persistence of feminine representation associated with the sun, though its origins lie in much older divine imagery.
Historical and cultural sources, including mythology and religious texts, provide contextual evidence that supports this reading. Scholars such as Ghirshman identify the female figure on Lorestan bronze pins as a mother goddess revered from Susa to Asia Minor. Similarly, the lion often accompanying the sun in later imagery has roots in the iconography of goddesses like Ishtar or Anahita, who were associated with power, fertility, and protection.
From a Foucauldian perspective, the study reveals a discursive shift: the once-dominant goddess imagery becomes muted, while the feminine sun motif gains visual authority. In contrast, the concept of a masculine “sun-father,” although present in mythological discourse, is notably absent from artistic representation. This discrepancy illustrates the tension between visual and cultural narratives.
The analysis distinguishes between valid and invalid forms of knowledge within the visual archive. Valid knowledge is the persistent femininity encoded in the sun's image; invalid knowledge is the retroactive cultural imposition of masculine attributes onto these images. The emergence of the feminine sun, therefore, is not the result of a singular historical event but rather the outcome of complex and overlapping cultural processes. Understanding these processes requires a genealogical analysis, as they involve layered ruptures that reshape meaning.
Ultimately, the research uncovers two primary transformations: the evolution of goddess imagery into the conceptual “female sun,” and the visual displacement of the “sun-father” by this feminine motif. These findings contribute to broader discussions on gendered representation in Iranian visual culture.

Conclusion
This study explores the representation of the female sun in Persian art, using Michel Foucault's method of archaeology to analyze the historical and conceptual evolution of the motif. The research focuses on understanding the emergence of this motif and the discursive shifts surrounding it in Iranian visual culture. The concept of the female sun is analyzed through the lens of Foucault’s genealogical theory, which seeks to identify the origins and transformations of discourses over time.
The study examines the historical trajectory of the female sun motif by exploring its appearances in various artworks. By applying the paleontological method, the research traces the development of the image and its associated discourses, without relying on interpretations of meaning. Instead, the study analyzes how societal norms, mythology, religion, language, and beliefs have shaped the visual representation of the sun, using an archival approach to uncover hidden and unwritten laws that influenced these depictions.
Through a comparative analysis of the earliest representations of the female sun and the latest examples, the research highlights the contradiction between the visual similarities and the cultural shifts in discourse. Despite the visual consistency across time, conceptual transformations have led to significant changes in how the sun is represented. Initially, the sun was depicted in a masculine or neutral gender context, but over time, particularly in more recent periods, it became feminized, marked by images like that of "Khorshid-khanom" (the sun lady). This shift marks the transition from a male-centered, mythological discourse of the sun to a female-centered one.
The study argues that this transformation reflects a broader rupture in the interpretation of the sun, signaling a break from long-standing mythological and gendered associations. The previous discourse of a male or neutral sun has been replaced by the female sun motif, signaling a re-interpretation and renewal of meaning in modern times. This reversal in meanings underscores a critical shift in Iranian visual culture and art.
By analyzing these breaks and transformations, the research reveals the contradictions, ambiguities, and paradoxes inherent in this cultural shift. While archaeology helps to uncover the continuity and changes in the representation of the female sun, a deeper genealogical analysis is needed to fully understand the causes behind these shifts. This study invites further exploration of the complex interplay between visual culture and evolving discourses in Persian art.