Argentine National Emblems

Last modified: 2005-04-02 by antónio martins
Keywords: coat of arms | sun: 32 rays | inti | viracocha | inca |
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• The Coat-of-Arms
• The Sun of May

• Argentina

The Coat-of-Arms

Arms (seal) adopted 1813 and mantained until now with minor style changes.
Jaume Ollé, 13 Jul 2000

The Sun of May

Design

The depiction of the sun is identical to the one of the first argentine coin, issued by law of 1813.04.13.
Gustavo Tracchia, 23 Sep 2001, translated by António Martins

Ray design

Centered upon the white panel of the national flag is the Sun of May with 32 straight and wavy rays alternating, in gold.
Paige Herring and Jarig Bakker, 11 Jan 1999

This was the incaic sun (thirty-two beams, sixteen straight and sixteen flaming, interpolated).
Remo Mario Gori, 17 Jun 1999

It’s 32 straight and wavy rays alternately. That is 16 straight and 16 wavy (flaming), starting with a stright ray in the apex of the sun disc.
Gustavo Tracchia, 23 Sep 2001, translated by António Martins

It should have 16 long rays and 16 short rays (one after the other) and they should be wavy.
Fernando A. Salgueiro, 01 Sep 2001

[I know] nothing at all about these mysterious short rays. Suns are sometimes drawn with longer and short rays, but I’ve never seen a May-sun drawn that way.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 26 Sep 2001

Facial features

The sun’s outline and features are authorized black, maroon, and reddish organge (gold).
Jaume Ollé, 03 Aug 2000

I would say the sun is usually outlined with something like “dark orange” — not black, not red either, that is how I usually see it on books and on the street. Maybe it is because in ceremonial flags, the sun is not printed, it is embroidered (In regular flags, the sun on the flag is usually printed, but also sewn.
Nicolas Rucks, 25 May 2000

The features of the Sun are to be embroidered in the same color, meaning that the stitching (?) itself enclosed the eyes, nose and mouth. The problem appears with printed flags, or drawn on plain surfaces, such as books or even the internet. For this, manufactors and designers use to draw the facial features of the Sun the color orange, brown, or any other simulating a sun cast shadow. If not, the sun would be represenbed as a featureless yellow spot, whithout any distinction in the mouth, nose, eyes as it is illustrated in a poster I have. Therefore, the argentine flag, along perhaps with the uruguayan, is the only three-dimensional flag, lacking legistation to sort out this tech issue.
Gustavo Tracchia, 23 Sep 2001, translated by António Martins

Origin

About the sun: Inca origin - Viracocha is the god creator, Inti is the Sun. Inti is the son of Viracocha. Viracocha is the Sun God. Inti is the astronomical object, the Sun. Incas depict Viracocha as a man, and Inti in the shape of a disc, with a face on it and flaming rays around it. It is also represented square, as in Tiahuanacu, with no torse but with legs and arms. (As if merging Viracocha and Inti, which are two, one created by the other.)

Some sources dont distinguish between these two, confusing the subject and the readers. Finally, some depictions of Viracocha show him with Inti as a circle shaped crest. It should be mentioned that none of these depictions of the deities is rules by any incaic canon. They were only product of each artist’s creativity.

Gus Tracchia, 20 Jan 2000, translated by António Martins

About the Sun, we think that it should be the one reproduced in the “golden pound” of the coins first issued by the provisional parlament of 1813, which description is given in the presidential decree (published in the Official Journal in 1999.08.09):

Explaining rules about the Sun on the Official Flag of the Nation: (Decree 858/99)

The Sun printed on the Official Flag of the Nation must be apliqueed on both sides, in such a manner that its sixteen flaming rays are oriented clockwise whatever the side being observed, for this is a symbol with neither obverse neither reverse.

History

Among the four flags atributed to Belgrano, none had a Sun. It shows for the first time on the argentine flag in 1818.
Gus Tracchia, 02 Feb 2000, translated by António Martins

In 1818 Congress determined that any national flag was to be blue and white and that the war flag was to be defaced with a sun on the white stripe.
Santiago Dotor, 15 Jun 1999, translating from this website