Khorshid Khanum Ghaffari

[2] Khorshid Khanum's portrait, dated 1834 or 1835,[1] was made just before the introduction of photography and lithography to the country.

Other notable women depicted on portraits during this period include Zia ol-Saltaneh and Malek Jahan Khanum Quvanlu.

Including women in paintings may have been a part of the increasing popularity of portraits in general during the early years of Mohammad Shah's rule.

The Iranian historian Yahya Zoka argues that Khorshid Khanum served as an inspiration for the first female characters painted by Sani ol-Molk, "both because her beauty conformed with the canons of the time and because their kinship allowed them to be intimate."

He notes many similarities between Khorshid Khanum and other women in Sani ol-Molk's paintings, including his Two Lovers.