{"status":true,"msg":{"data":{"id":1723,"auction_id":3,"set_id":4,"lot_number":"34","artist":"Ramon Orlina (b. 1944)","title":"Swimming Upstream","starting_price":2200000,"signed_dated":"signed and dated 2022","medium":"carved green glass","size":"11 1/2\" x 13\" x 6\" (29 cm x 33 cm x 15 cm)","property":null,"coa":"Accompanied by a certificate signed by the artist\nconfirming the authenticity of this lot","provenance":"Acquired directly from the artist","exhibited":null,"literature":null,"write_up":"In this piece titled Swimming Upstream, the eminent Ramon Orlina draws inspiration from Chinese mythology, producing an evocative work that espouses the virtue of determination in the face of difficulties.
A popular and domesticated subspecies of the carp are the koi. The koi has long been a symbol of wealth and prosperity in Oriental cultures, especially in Japan and China, where they represent harmony and good fortune. Nishikigoi is the koi’s name in the Japanese lexicon, which means “swimming jewel.” From its Japanese name is evoked an enduring Chinese legend.
There is this ancient Chinese legend that tells of the story of carp fishes, which were once teeming in numbers in the Huang He (Yellow) River. The lore narrates the story of the carp’s perseverance and its venture to go beyond the impossible to attain greatness. In Chinese mythology, the Longmen, which translates to “The Dragon Gate,” is the carp’s greatest obstacle to achieving its object of desire.
In an account published in Anthony Christie’s 1968 book titled Chinese Mythology, it was said that the king, Yu the Great, had the mountains blocking the course of the Huang He bisected in order to prevent the flooding of the river (the Huang He is often called “China’s Sorrow” for the numerous floods it has caused throughout Chinese history). Yu’s actions gave rise to a towering waterfall, the Dragon Gate, in which its powerfully cascading course pushed the carp down into the deep ends of the river, thus preventing them from coming back to their original habitation.
Dejected but clinging on to a little amount of faith, the carp complained to the king, Yu the Great, whose wife was the daughter of the heavenly deity, the Jade Emperor. The wife brought the fishes’ grievance to her mighty father, and the Jade Emperor promised that whoever could hurdle and successfully cross over the Dragon Gate would become a dragon, the paramount symbol of strength and wisdom in Chinese culture.
The carp then competed annually, and those who achieved this arduous endeavor were instantly metamorphosed into formidable dragons and freely soared into the heavens as bounty for their supreme strength of character. (A.M.)","lot_group":"SCULPTURE","lot_details_html":"
Ramon Orlina (b. 1944) Swimming Upstream signed and dated 2022 carved green glass 11 1/2\" x 13\" x 6\" (29 cm x 33 cm x 15 cm)