How a Chinese guardian spirit became a symbol of Venice

Anew study by Italian scientists suggests that the symbol of the Venetian Republic was made in China and travelled a long way through the court of the Mongol emperor Khubilai.

Every year, millions of tourists pass under this lion mounted on a tall column overlooking the lagoon. However, the origin of this statue has remained a mystery for centuries: it has shortened ears, modified wings, and once even had horns.

Archaeologist Massimo Vidale of the University of Padua, one of the authors of the study, explains: "We don't know when the sculpture arrived in Venice, where and by whom it was reworked, or when it was placed on the column".

The first written mention of the lion dates back to 1293. Even then the statue was already damaged. The column of purple granite on which he stands probably arrived in Venice shortly before 1261 - possibly from sacked Constantinople (present-day Istanbul).

In their quest to unravel the sculpture's origins, scientists examined metal samples taken during the 1990 restoration. Lead isotopic analysis showed that copper ore was mined in the Yangtze River basin - in China.

This diverges radically from previous theories that the lion was created in Venice or the Middle East during the Hellenistic period.

According to researchers, the sculpture is more reminiscent of Chinese grave guardian spirits called zhenmushou, common in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). These beings had lion faces, flaming manes, horns and wings. Some even had human facial features. Researchers especially note the "puffy nose" of the Venetian lion, a characteristic feature of such statues.

How did the Chinese guardian spirit end up in Venice?

According to the version of scientists, he could bring Niccolo and Maffeo Polo - father and uncle of the famous traveller Marco Polo. In 1265 they visited the court of Khubilai in Khanbalik (modern Beijing). The researchers suggest that they may have found the sculpture there and "with a certain amount of audacity" reworked it into a winged lion, a symbol that Venice was just beginning to use.

According to the authors of the paper, the statue could have been sent to Venice along the Silk Road.

Later, after the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797, French general Napoleon transported the lion to Paris. There it was damaged, but in 1815 it was returned to its homeland.