A winged lion has looked out over St. Mark’s Square in Venice for hundreds of years. Now, researchers have discovered that the bronze statue has traveled a long way before it became a symbol of the lagoon city. The metal comes from China. The lion was probably made there during the Tang Dynasty.
A mystery of the city on the Adriatic Sea may have been solved: until recently, no one knew where the famous lion statue came from. Now, scientists from the universities of Padua and Venice have examined the statue and discovered its distant origins.
Chemical analysis revealed that the statue was made of metal ore from the lower Yangtze River. The style of the figure suggests that it was made during the Tang Dynasty (609-907 AD).
Lion was probably a serious guard
Previously, it was assumed that the statue was made in Anatolia in pre-Christian times, because some features suggested a Hellenistic origin. However, the researchers who examined the lion now recognized more similarities with a typical tomb guardian figure from China from the Tang Dynasty.
Based on historical sources, it is assumed that the figure came to Venice in the 13th century. It was probably dismantled for the long journey and only reassembled at its destination. Since then, according to the assumptions of the researchers, it has been revised several times, further obscuring its origins. The wings were rearranged in the 19th century.
The study analyzed the isotopic signature in the metal, which acts as a chemical fingerprint. According to archaeologist Massimo Vidale, this allows clear results about the area of origin.
Marco Polo’s father could be an importer
One final mystery remains unsolved: how the statue came to Venice remains a mystery. The Asian traveler Marco Polo could not have transported it there, since the figure was already in Venice when he returned from his travels. His father Niccolò and his uncle Maffeo would be candidates, since they had traveled to China via the Silk Road between 1264 and 1266.
Source: Krone

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