摘要：据美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）2025年9月8日报道，意大利科学家通过科学研究，终于解开了矗立在意大利威尼斯圣马可广场旁小广场的一根立柱之上的圣马可飞狮与当地当年的其他雕塑风格截然不同的原因，她原来是由马可波罗家族从元朝购买的大唐镇墓神兽。主要内容如下：
欢迎和感谢各位朋友阅读、转发、收藏、关注和留下宝贵评论！[鼓掌][作揖]喜欢英语的朋友可跳过中文直接阅读后附英语原文。
矗立在意大利威尼斯圣马可广场旁小广场的一根立柱之上的圣马可飞狮来自大大唐
据美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）2025年9月8日报道，意大利科学家通过科学研究，终于解开了矗立在意大利威尼斯圣马可广场旁小广场的一根立柱之上的圣马可飞狮与当地当年的其他雕塑风格截然不同的原因，她原来是由马可波罗家族从元朝购买的大唐镇墓神兽。主要内容如下：
对来自世界各地的游客而言，智利威尼斯是一幅壮丽的织锦，汇聚了历史建筑、水道、钟楼与红屋顶，还有一尊威严的带翼狮子，它是威尼斯共和国的象征，被雕刻在全城各处的建筑上。其中最著名的或许是矗立在圣马可广场毗邻的小广场内一根立柱顶端的一尊飞狮青铜雕像。
根据9月4日发表在《古物》期刊上的一项最新研究成果，意大利北部帕多瓦大学研究人员通过铅同位素分析对这尊金属狮子样本的研究发现，制作这尊原始青铜雕像所用的青铜合金，产自中国的长江。
研究人员表示，这一发现可以解释为何这尊长4米高2.2米的雕像在风格上令人困惑。此前人们一直认为它是在当地、叙利亚或安纳托利亚制作的。
研究人员指出，尽管这尊雕像虽然在13世纪才被安放在圣马可广场，但它的风格与公元618年至907年唐朝时期中国的艺术品更为接近，而非中世纪地中海欧洲地区风格的作品。研究人员给出的依据包括：雕像口鼻的形状，以及此前去除雕像的角所后留下的痕迹。
飞狮所矗立的立柱源自安纳托利亚（即如今土耳其的一部分），而飞狮雕像本身也经过了多次修复，有记载的最早修复发生在1293年。
研究人员表示：“马可·波罗的父亲与叔叔在首次旅程中，曾在元朝大汗忽必烈的朝廷停留四年，这尊雕像有可能就是由他们购得的。”研究人员还补充称，他们那次到访元朝朝廷的时间可能在1264年至1268年之间。
研究报告的作者推测，这尊动物雕像最初是一尊镇墓兽：镇墓兽是唐朝时期一种体型庞大、形态凶猛、形似狮子的陵墓守护雕像。
美国克利夫兰艺术博物馆收藏的中国唐代镇墓兽
研究人员补充道，波罗家族成员在访问蒙古朝廷后将这尊雕像运回意大利，之后它很可能经过了“隐秘且费力的改造”，被打造成圣马可的神圣象征：但角被移除，还被加上了类似毛发的装饰。
研究人员补充称：“由于令人费解的文献记载缺失，这尊雕像前往威尼斯背后的意图与运输细节仍有待进一步研究。如果说当初安放这尊‘飞狮’是为了传递强烈的防御性政治信号，那么如今我们还可以将其视为中世纪的欧洲与中国存在惊人的联系的一种象征。”
Venice’s famous winged lion statue is actually Chinese, scientists say. By Amy Woodyatt on CNN. September 8, 2025
To visitors, Venice is a glorious tapestry of historic buildings, waterways, bell towers, red roofs — and a mighty winged lion, the symbol of the Venetian republic, carved into structures across the city.
Possibly the most famous version of the lion is a bronze statue standing atop a column in the Piazzetta adjoining St. Mark’s Square — and now, researchers think the statue was made in China.
After studying samples from the metal lion using lead isotope analysis, researchers from northern Italy’s University of Padua found that the copper used to create the bronze alloy (which is a mix of copper and tin) on the original bronze work came from the Yangtze river in China, according to a study published in the journal Antiquity on Thursday.
This, they said, would explain why the 4-meter- (13-foot-) long and 2.2-meter- (7-foot-) high statue, previously thought to have been made locally, in Syria or Anatolia, is stylistically mysterious.
Although it was installed in St. Mark’s Square in the 13th century, the lion more closely resembles work produced in China during the Tang Dynasty — 618 to 907 AD — than that found in medieval Mediterranean Europe, the researchers argue, citing the shape of its snout and scars from the removal of earlier horns.
The column on which the lion stands is from Anatolia (part of modern-day Turkey), and the lion itself has been repaired several times, with the earliest recorded instance in 1293.
“It is possible that Marco Polo’s father and uncle, during the four years they spent at the court of Kublai Khan during their first journey, were responsible for the acquisition of the sculpture,” the researchers said, adding that the visit likely took place between 1264 and 1268.
The animal was originally a zhènmùshòu, a monumental, fierce, lion-like tomb guardian from the Tang Dynasty, the authors speculate.
Once the Polos sent the statue back to Italy after their visit to the Mongol court, it was probably “discreetly and laboriously refitted” to look like the holy emblem of St. Mark, with horns removed and a “wig” added, they added.
“In a puzzling absence of written information, the intention and logistics behind its journey to Venice remain elusive and open to interpretation. If the installation of the ‘Lion’ was meant to send a strong, defensive political message, we can now also read it as a symbol of the impressive connectedness of the medieval world,” they added.
来源：读行品世事一点号