Asal

Singa, dalam bentuknya sekarang, adalah gabungan dari kepingan gangsa yang berbeza yang dibuat pada masa yang sangat berbeza, berdasarkan komponen "inti" kuno. Ia telah menjalani banyak kerja pemulihan dan pembaikan pada masa yang berlainan.

Beasiswa selama 200 tahun kebelakangan ini mengaitkan asalnya bahagian paling kuno patung itu kepada Assyria, Sassania, Greco-Bactria, Venice abad pertengahan, dan pelbagai masa dan tempat lain. Walau bagaimanapun, kajian sejarah saintifik dan seni pada tahun 1980-an membawa kepada kesimpulan bahawa kajian itu dibuat antara akhir abad ke-4 dan awal abad ke-3 SM di suatu tempat di Hellenistic Greek atau Oriental Greek dunia. Tokoh gangsa yang asli, secara keseluruhan, mungkin jauh berbeza dengan Singa hari ini; dan, yang mendahului agama Kristian, pada awalnya tidak akan mempunyai hubungan dengan Saint Mark.

Zaman Pertengahan

Besar kemungkinan patung itu digabungkan menjadi seperti bentuknya sekarang atau pada masa Zaman Pertengahan. Rujukan teks paling awal untuk Singa adalah dari tahun 1293, ketika dicatat sebagai telah dipulihkan setelah lama diabaikan.

Expatriation and repatriation

The Lion was taken to France after Napoleon's conquest of the Venetian Republic, during his 1797 campaign in Italy. It was damaged in the course of removal and transport; lacking wings, paws, tail, and Gospel-book. After being restored by French sculptors, possibly Edme Gaulle or Jean Guillaume Moitte, the Lion was mounted on a plinth in the new Fontaine des Invalides. The fountain, completed in 1804, was located at the Place des Invalides, Paris.

After Napoleon's downfall the Lion was returned to Venice, now a part of the Austrian Empire. On 2 October 1815, during the process of removal, it was again badly damaged. A rope broke, the statue fell, and smashed apart; whether by accident, or deliberate sabotage by one of the French workers is unclear. As a result, the bronze figure was broken into approximately 20 pieces. Having lost its main ornament, the Fontaine des Invalides was eventually redesigned, and finally demolished in 1840.

Repatriated to Venice, the fragments of the Lion were stored at the Arsenal before it was repaired by Bartolomeo Ferrari and returned to its column, officially, on 13 April 1816. This restoration included an alteration to the Lion's tail, now extended, which had previously been tucked between its hind legs. The book beneath its paws was again recast; the French replacement having been lost, stolen, or abandoned.