How Did Researchers Discover This?
“Venice is a city full of mysteries, but we’ve unraveled one of them. The lion in St. Mark’s Square is Chinese, and it arrived via the Silk Road,” stated Massimo Vidale, a professor of archaeology and the lead author of the study.
To prove the Chinese origin of the winged lion, the team analyzed the bronze from which it was made, as reported by Live Science.
In total, the researchers examined nine metal samples from different parts of the statue. Using mass spectrometry, the scientists determined the lead isotope ratios in the metal. By comparing the isotopic composition of the lead in the Venetian lion with reference databases, they narrowed down the origin of the bronze to the lower Yangtze River region. This area of Eastern is rich in large metal deposits.
The team suggested that this discovery could also explain certain stylistic features of the Venetian lion. Its appearance does not resemble medieval depictions of lions from the 11th to 14th centuries that were created in Europe.
However, the winged symbol of Venice bears a striking resemblance to artworks from the Tang Dynasty. At that time, Chinese artists often depicted hybrid creatures with lion-like faces and manes, pointed ears, horns, and raised wings. The Venetian lion shares several of these characteristics. Additionally, it has metallic “scars” in places where horns may have once been removed.
In the 13th century, Venetian merchants—brothers Niccolò and Maffeo Polo, the father and uncle of Marco Polo—traveled the Silk Road, establishing trading posts. Eventually, they reached a city now known as Beijing, where they spent four years. It’s likely that the brothers encountered a statue of a “tomb guardian” that matched their vision of what a lion should look like.
During the 13th century, when the Venetian Republic controlled eastern trade routes, its symbol was the winged lion. This image also appeared on its flag.
According to the researchers, the Polo brothers may have had “a somewhat audacious idea to rework the sculpture into a plausible (from a distance) winged lion.” It’s likely that the merchants sent the statue to Venice in parts, entrusting a local craftsman to restore it.
“Of course, this is just one possible scenario based on the comparison of historical and archaeometallurgical data. Now it’s up to historians,” the researchers wrote in their report on the discovery, published in the journal Antiquity.