New Evidence Claims Venice’s Winged Lion Is Not Greek, but Chinese!

Just imagine – the famed bronze-winged lion above one of the columns in Piazzetta San Marco, often seen as a universal symbol of Venice and ancient Hellenistic sculpture, has now proved to be of Chinese origins! In fact, contact between these two civilizations well predated the legendary Marco Polo, as new research is showing us. Researchers have traced the bronze material of this sculpture back to ancient Chinese copper deposits found in the lower Yangzi River region, an area known for its mining activities stretching back 3,000 years to the late Shang Dynasty.

From Near East to Far East: Chinese Origins of the Winged Griffin

It had already been established that the statue did not originate in Venice, and previous theories had pointed to a Near Eastern, possibly Anatolian, source from the 4th or 3rd century BC, reports a press statement by University of Padua, home to a cutting-edge archive of lead isotopes.

The discovery was announced at an international conference of Marco Polo on 11th September, 2024, to commemorate the 700th anniversary of his death, and has a dramatic impact on the way we understand the ancient world. Indeed, it also confirms much of what we have already learnt about the ancient world – that it was far more globally interconnected than we give it credit for.

The ‘Lion of Venice’ in St Mark’s Square, Venice. (Wirestock/Adobe Stock)

Symbolism Imbued

The winged lion, a blend of lion and griffin, came to symbolize Saint Mark the Evangelist and was officially adopted as the emblem of Venice between 1261 and 1264. Although the exact date of the statue’s installation in St. Mark’s Square remains uncertain, scholars are confident it predated Polo’s return from his journey.

Following the chemical analysis, comparisons have been drawn between the Lion of Venice and tomb guardians from the Tang Dynasty (618 to 907 AD), sculptures traditionally used to protect the deceased in the afterlife.

While much of China’s Tang Dynasty bronzes have been lost to history, melted down or destroyed over the centuries, surviving examples of porcelain artifacts from the period bear strong resemblances to the Lion of Venice. Parallel similarities have been found in the treatment of nostrils, teeth, facial expressions, and hair patterns.

Tang Sancai Porcelain Lion (Public Domain)

Clinching evidence comes from the small holes present on the lion’s head, which, researchers suggest, were originally intended to hold horns. The creature’s ears also show signs of having been rounded off—a modification likely done to make the sculpture appear more lion-like. This aligns with the theory that the original figure, which was brought to Venice in parts and later reassembled, was adapted from a Tang dynasty tomb guardian into a more recognizable symbol of Venetian power and faith, reports LBV Magazine.

In correspondence with Artnet News, lead researcher, Professor Massimo Vidale, a leading figure in the study, was not fully convinced of the sculpture’s purely Hellenistic origins. He explained:

“I always had the impression that the lion was a Chinese hybrid, a deeply manipulated Chinese statue. Now, we have solved for good, a long-inherited archaeological riddle and the stylistic and chemical data are in perfect agreement with the hypothesis that the Venice Lion was made in China.”

Travelling Along the Maritime Silk Route

When Marco Polo returned to Venice in 1295 from a distant land he referred to as Catai, he brought with him astonishing stories of a world that seemed entirely foreign to his fellow Venetians. In The Book of the Marvels of the World, Polo described wonders such as the use of paper money, a black stone that burned like wood (coal), a wealth of spices like pepper, nutmeg, and cloves, and the magnificent palace of Kublai Khan in Xanadu. These tales, often thought of as fantastical or mystical, were mostly dismissed in their time.

Professor Vidale, points to the need for further research into Chinese pre-Ming dynasty pottery found in Venice. He believes that systematically studying these artifacts could illuminate the scope of trade between Venice and China long before Marco Polo’s writings.

Pottery fragments from the late 13th century, discovered in Venice, already suggest the existence of robust trade routes running from southern China through the major ports of Sumatra, along India’s western coast, and across the overland routes of what is now Iran and Turkey, ultimately reaching Europe, reports Arkeonews.

These ceramic vessels would have traveled alongside other valuable goods, such as spices and textiles, and Vidale argues that further investigation could reshape our understanding of the role Venetian traders played in facilitating these exchanges. The current research hints at a more global, interconnected world, where trade and exploration forged relationships between East and West long before Polo penned his famous accounts.

“This discovery highlights the open-mindedness and global outlook of the Venetians at that time,” Vidale remarked. “It’s remarkable how a fearsome tomb guardian from China could be transformed into a holy image representing one of the four apostles of the Christian faith.”

As for the lion statue itself, Vidale proposes that ideally, it should be removed from its mythical pedestal for a detailed study – but that too, he admits, is wishful thinking.

Top image: The ‘Lion of Venice’ column in St Mark’s Square, Venice.     Source: Kavalenkava/Adobe Stock

By Sahir Pandey