News Archaeology

Venice’s iconic winged lion statue originated in ancient China

The sculpture is a modified Tang Dynasty creation

image of winged lion statue in Venice’s St. Mark’s Square

A famed winged lion statue in Venice’s St. Mark’s Square (shown) started out as a tomb guardian sculpture in ancient China, a new study suggests.

Wolfgang Moroder/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

By Bruce Bower

Venice’s famous bronze statue of a winged lion, which stands atop a pedestal in St.