Venice’s Famed Winged Lion Statue May Not Be From Venice—Or Even a Lion

For centuries, a winged lion has stood perched on a tall column over the city of Venice, Italy. And although Venice is renowned for its storied art history, the bronzed beast may have actually originated elsewhere—in China.

1. The Science Behind the Statue
2. From China to Venice

In a new paper published in the journal Antiquity, researchers at the University of Padua analyzed the lead isotopes found in the copper elements of the statue. Certain types of ore are known to be regional, and the lead can help pinpoint their origin. In this instance, the lion’s copper appears to have come from the lower Yangtze River basin in southeastern China.

Even more surprising: It may not even be a lion at all.

The Science Behind the Statue

Standing roughly 7 feet tall and 13 feet wide, the lion sits atop one of two pillars located in St. Mark’s Plaza, near St. Mark’s Basilica, in Venice. The historical record of how it wound up there has been murky at best. Some theorize it originally hailed from Syria, Persia, or Greece; it could have been crafted as early as 300 BCE or as late as 1200 CE. Installation was no later than 1293 CE, as historians have documentation from that period of needed restoration.

Speculation over its origins has persisted for some time, though it’s primarily been based on artistic style. The University of Padua opted instead for chemical analysis, examining samples of the statue’s material and comparing it with extensive databases of global lead deposits.

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Previous samples as well as new samples (for a total of nine) were visualized with mass spectrometry. While the lead isotope ratios present could have been sourced from copper ore deposits in the Balkans, they’re a better fit for deposits found in North Africa and China. A particularly strong match was found in the copper mines along the lower Yangtze River.

It’s not just the metallurgical make-up: Researchers assert the statue shares a style with that of art specific to the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE), particularly the period’s depiction of lions or leonine creatures. The Tang era used similar iconography as “guardians” of tombs, though they were not expressly lions.

From China to Venice

The lead provides a strong indicator it hailed from China. But how it physically got to Venice is still a bit of a mystery.

Researchers theorize that it could have been transported by Niccolò and Maffeo Polo, Marco’s father and uncle, who discovered the statue in its original form in what is now Beijing and had it retrofitted to better resemble the winged lion of St. Mark, a Venetian symbol of power and pride. The statue appears to be missing a set of horns that were removed at some point, though it’s unclear whether such modification happened in China or in the lion’s new home in Italy.

“In the general effort to spread the Republic’s new powerful symbol, the Polos may have had the somewhat brazen idea of readapting the sculpture into a plausible (when viewed from afar) Winged Lion,” the paper states. “Although we cannot exclude that the statue was modified by Chinese hands, changes were more likely performed while transforming a hybrid monster into the desired leonine image.”

Whether it was the Polos or others, the isotope discovery means the lion would have traveled over 8000 miles, a hint at the vast global trading network that existed in the 13th century.

The lion hasn’t always remained in Venice. In 1797, Napoleon seized the statue and absconded with it to Paris. It didn’t return until 1815, when Venice demanded its return. Badly damaged in the process, it was restored. and has subsequently undergone repairs and maintenance.

However it arrived, the lion has become synonymous with Venice, inspiring numerous artworks and even inspiring the Golden Lion prize of the lauded Venice Film Festival.