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  • Venice’s Sacred Lion Of St. Mark Was Actually Made In China, Analysis Reveals

    10/06/2025 8:15:31 AM PDT · by Red Badger · 20 replies
    Study Finds ^ | October 06, 2025 | Massimo Vidale (Università degli Studi di Padova.)
    View of winged Lion of Venice at Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy. (Photo by BGStock72 on Shutterstock) In A Nutshell Scientific testing shows Venice’s bronze Lion of St .Mark was cast in China during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618–907), not in Europe. Lead-isotope analysis traced the copper to the Guishan, Yaojialing, and Anji mines along China’s Lower Yangzi River. Stylistic evidence reveals it began as a mythic tomb guardian called a zhènmùshòu, complete with horns and bat-like ears later cut away. Venetian merchants, possibly the Polo family, may have refashioned the statue into a winged lion as Venice’s new...