Nine Dragons Hidden in Clouds (九龍隱雲), also known as The Convergence of Dragons and Clouds (龍雲契會) are

Nine Dragons Hidden in Clouds (九龍隱雲), also known as The Convergence of Dragons and Clouds (龍雲契會) are the two most prominent painted ceilings of Vietnam: one resides in the Tomb of Khải Định, the other is in Diệu Đế Temple. Both are cultural heritages of the Imperial City of Huế. The mausoleum’s ceiling was accomplished by the reputable court artist Phan Văn Tánh (潘文性)(constructed from 1920-1931), who exceptionally completed the artwork in an extraordinary horizontal position. Each dragon is depicted uniquely in different concentrations, leaping amidst the auspicious clouds, creating such an enchanting picture. The nine dragons altogether soar to the entire 3 ceilings of Khải Thành Hall and Thiên Định Palace, akin to an ink wash painting. Legends say the paint mixture is so miraculous that the ceilings are apparently cobweb-proof and have never faded despite its almost-100-year existence. This peculiar feature has been left unsolved for decades. On the contrary, the temple’s (constructed from 1953-1955) evokes a more elegant and lissom aspect of the same concept: 5 dragons gently piercing layers of clouds on the ceiling with another 4 crawling along 4 pillars of the main hall. This modified masterpiece was constructed under the supervisor of Diệu Hoằng Buddhist monk with the help of fundraising by Empress Dowager Đoan Huy, but the actual artist behind this piece remains unidentified.

The said two masterpieces have inspired a completely new sub-collection, included in Annam Heritage and exclusive to BARO, which exploits the richness of Vietnamese mythology, folktales about supernatural spirits, fiends and monsters. Eventually, the design Convergence of Dragons and Clouds has marked its debut right in the Ghost Festival of 2020.