A new study has revealed that the iconic bronze-winged lion in St Mark's Square, Venice, may have originated in 8th-century China.
一项新的研究表明,威尼斯圣马可广场的标志性青铜飞狮“威尼斯之狮”可能起源于8世纪的中国。
The discovery comes from a multidisciplinary team of experts in geology, chemistry, archaeology, and art history from the University of Padua, the Ca' Foscari University of Venice, and the International Association for Mediterranean and Oriental Studies (Ismeo).
这是一个由意大利地质学家、考古学家、化学家和艺术史学家组成的团队的新发现。
Over the centuries, the lion has undergone several restorations. In the 1790s, Napoleon looted the statue and transported it to Paris, where it was damaged during its return to Venice in 1815. The Venetian sculptor Bartolomeo Ferrari restored the statue, making additions like the lead book beneath its paws, while retaining most of the original structure.
几个世纪以来,狮子经历了几次修复。在18世纪90年代,拿破仑掠夺了雕像并将其运到巴黎,在1815年归还威尼斯的过程中遭到破坏。威尼斯雕塑家巴尔托洛梅奥·法拉利(Bartolomeo Ferrari)对雕像进行了修复,在保留了大部分原始结构的同时,在雕像的爪子下面增加了一些东西,比如铅书。
During the last thirty-five years, the archives of lead isotope chemical data have expanded enormously, explained Massimo Vidale, an archaeologist at the University of Padua and promoter of the study, so it seemed appropriate to try to see where the lead isotopic signature of the three samples fell.
帕多瓦大学(University of Padua)的考古学家、该研究的发起人马西莫·维达尔(Massimo Vidale)解释说,在过去的35年里,铅同位素化学数据的档案已经大大扩展,因此,试图找出这三个样本的铅同位素特征落在哪里似乎是合适的。
Through advanced metallurgical analysis, the team discovered that a significant portion of the bronze used in the lion came from the lower Yangtze River basin in southeastern China, and it was likely cast during the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
专家团队通过先进的冶金分析发现,两份中心部位样本和中国长江中下游的矿物高度吻合。这座飞狮使用的青铜很大一部分来自中国东南部的长江下游流域,很可能是在唐代 (公元618-907年) 铸造的。
Researchers found that the lion shares several design features with zhenmushou, or "tomb guardian" figures, typical of the Tang Dynasty.
研究人员发现,这只狮子与唐代典型的“镇墓兽”有几个共同的设计特征。
These guardian sculptures, often placed at tomb gates to ward off evil spirits, had distinct characteristics that mirror those of the St Mark's lion. For instance, the lion's wide nostrils, upturned mustache, wide-open mouth with prominent canines, and truncated orbital sockets, where horns or antlers were once mounted, are all common features of zhenmushou statues. The lion’s ears also appear to have been modified to make them look more like those of a typical lion, rather than the pointed ears seen on zhenmushou.
这些守护雕像通常被放置在墓门口,以抵御邪恶的灵魂,它们具有鲜明的特征,反映了圣马可狮子的特征。例如,狮子的大鼻孔,上翘的胡须,大张的嘴,突出的犬齿,截断的眼眶,曾经安装角或鹿角,都是真木寿雕像的共同特征。狮子的耳朵似乎也经过了修改,使它们看起来更像一只典型的狮子,而不是在镇墓兽上看到的尖耳朵。
The circumstances of its arrival remain mysterious, with some speculating that the lion could have been brought to Venice by Marco Polo's father, Nicolò, and his uncle, Maffeo, who visited the Mongol court in Beijing between 1264 and 1266. Others believe it may have arrived earlier, perhaps during a time of intense trade along the Silk Road.
它到达威尼斯的具体情况仍然是个谜,有人猜测这只狮子可能是由马可·波罗的父亲Nicolò和他的叔叔Maffeo带到威尼斯的,他们在1264年到1266年之间参观了北京的蒙古宫廷。其他人认为它可能更早到达,也许是在丝绸之路贸易激烈的时期。
编辑:左卓
见习编辑:黎霈融
实习生:刘书瑞
来源:环球时报 英国那些事儿 Finestre sull'Arte杂志 考古新闻
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