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4h ago

Venice’s Winged Lion Traced to Tang-Dynasty China, Study Finds

Lead-isotope testing links the bronze to ores from the Lower Yangzi River basin.

Millions of people walk under the statue in central Venice every year
Made in China? The Lion of Venice sculpture sits on top of a column in Piazza San Marco
Image
The statue may not be a lion at all, but instead a tomb guardian called zhenmushou from China's Tang Dynasty

Overview

  • An Antiquity paper by Massimo Vidale and colleagues argues the St. Mark’s column figure began as a Tang-era tomb guardian later reshaped in Europe.
  • Metal samples from original components show lead-isotope signatures consistent with Chinese copper sources in the Lower Yangzi region.
  • Close inspection notes removed horns, shortened ears, and other reworking consistent with converting a zhènmùshòu into a winged lion.
  • The team proposes the object may have reached Venice in the mid-1260s and been reworked between about 1270 and 1290, while the earliest record appears only in 1293 noting damage.
  • The researchers outline possible routes for its journey, including a Polo family link via the Silk Road, but emphasize that transport and timing remain unconfirmed.