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From Wikipedia: The Lion sculpture has had a very long and obscure history, probably starting its existence as a funerary statue called zhènmùshòu (镇墓兽 in Simp
by crazygringo 2y ago
From Wikipedia:
The Lion sculpture has had a very long and obscure history, probably starting its existence as a funerary statue called zhènmùshòu (镇墓兽 in Simplified Chinese, literally “tomb guardian”) in medieval China, during the reign of the Tang Dynasty.
...The Lion, in its present form, is a composite of different pieces of bronze created at very different times, building upon ancient "core" components. It has undergone extensive restoration and repair work at various times.
...More recent studies, however, suggest that the statue likely comes from the regions near the lower course of the Yangtze River, in eastern China, and was probably cast sometime in the period from the 7th to the early 10th century CE, during the reign of the Tang Dynasty. The original bronze figure, taken as a whole, was likely significantly different from the Lion of today...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_of_Venice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_of_Venice
- hinkley 2y agoWould it have come over the spice roads all the way from eastern china or would it have been pirate loot sold in Mumbai and then fenced farther west?
- umeshunni 2y ago> pirate loot sold in Mumbai Hate to nitpick, but Mumbai didn't exist in those times - it was a group of islands and not a major port. Major trading ports of India at the time were Muziris, Goa, Surat etc.
- FlyingSnake 2y agoWhile Mumbai in it’s current form didn’t exist, western India had many important ports like Sopara and Chaul in the same region.
- 082349872349872 2y agobeing fenced would explain why it's been through a chop shop (we call them "chop shops" in english because they used to file off the chops and serial #s the eastern chinese oems engraved on their statuary)
- esperent 2y ago> they used to file off the chops What are "chops"? I always thought chop shops were so called because they chop up stolen cars into small pieces that are hard to trace and sell them individually.
- rsynnott 2y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seals_in_the_Sinosphere https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seals_in_the_Sinosphere > In the western world, Asian seals were traditionally known by traders as chop marks or simply chops, a term adapted from the Hindi chapa and the Malay cap, meaning stamp or rubber stamps. These are still _quite a big deal_, eg https://www.ft.com/content/48baeb67-2d3c-41c3-8645-e89ac69a985a https://www.ft.com/content/48baeb67-2d3c-41c3-8645-e89ac69a9...
- lupusreal 2y agoA chop is a signature, stamp or seal which marks something as official. But I think you're probably right about "chop shop."
- ConcernedCoder 2y agoPossibly related are silver coins called "trade dollars" that were minted in the usa and used for trade with china which exibit "chop marks" signifying validity: https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=9cb25f21911ea42e&q=trade+dollars+with+chop+marks&udm=2 https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=9cb25f21911ea42e&q=tra...
- 082349872349872 2y agomy bad; here is the ":-)" that should've accompanied the whimsy supra.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]