Is the “Lion of Venice” Actually From China?

Poised atop a column of Egyptian granite, the bronze “Lion of Venice” looks out on the sprawling Piazzetta San Marco. The massive statue has been a symbol of the Italian city since at least 1293 and is connected to the patron saint of Venice, Mark the Evangelist, often symbolized as a lion. However, a new study of the winged leonine artwork’s lead isotopes reveals that a major part of the statue is made of bronze from 8th-century China. Led by scholars from the University of Padua and the International Association of Mediterranean and Eastern Studies, the findings point to the global nature of trade during the Middle Ages and the impressive reach of arts from China’s Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE). It also underscores the increasing importance of isotopic analysis within art history.

#archaeology #art

https://hyperallergic.com/951602/is-the-lion-of-venice-actually-from-china/