However, one mystery still remains - how did the three ton winged lion statue make its way from China to Venice. According to records famous Venetian explorer Marco Polo returned from a place he ...

Still, Polo endures as a vital point of contact between Europe and dynastic China ... the impression that the lion was a Chinese hybrid, a deeply manipulated Chinese statue,” Vidale said ...

Their paper divulged that lead isotopic analysis of the 13-foot (~four-meter) bronze statue revealed that a significant portion of the heavily repaired work originally came from southern China.

The Lion of Venice, an ancient bronze statue ... has revealed that the sculpture originates from copper ore deposits in China. More specifically, lead isotopes reveal that major parts of the statue ...