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. Architecture of the Floating (Or Sinking) City: How Was Venice Built? The Doges of Venice: Venetian Rulers for More than a Millennium 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. Read moreSection: ArtifactsOther ArtifactsNewsHistory & ArchaeologyRead Later