Screens and Room Dividers
1860s Italian Neoclassical Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas, Paint
Early 19th Century Empire Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas, Wood
Mid-20th Century American Regency Screens and Room Dividers
Foil
Early 20th Century English Edwardian Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
Early 1900s Chinese Chinese Export Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Lacquer
2010s Ukrainian Art Deco Screens and Room Dividers
Straw, Wood
Early 1900s French Art Nouveau Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
19th Century Japanese Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Paper
19th Century Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Rattan
Early 20th Century Screens and Room Dividers
Brass, Gold Leaf
1940s Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1960s American Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Late 20th Century American Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Paint
1980s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Murano Glass, Wood
1990s Philippine Hollywood Regency Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Plywood
2010s Italian Screens and Room Dividers
Glass
1880s French Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
20th Century American Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1940s American Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1940s French Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Iron, Wrought Iron
2010s Portuguese Screens and Room Dividers
Lacquer
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Late 20th Century American Regency Screens and Room Dividers
Hardwood
1880s American Aesthetic Movement Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Gold Leaf
19th Century British Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Paper
1960s Japanese Chinoiserie Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Paper
1950s French Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Mirror, Oak
18th Century European Baroque Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Aluminum
2010s Portuguese Screens and Room Dividers
Lacquer
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Iron
1970s Italian Hollywood Regency Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1910s French Art Nouveau Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Beech
Mid-19th Century French Neoclassical Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1910s Edwardian Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Satinwood
2010s Portuguese Post-Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Marble, Gold Leaf
2010s American Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Walnut
Mid-20th Century Space Age Screens and Room Dividers
Aluminum
1950s French Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric, Wood
Early 1900s German Art Nouveau Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Indonesian Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Mahogany
1950s Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
1910s Danish Art Nouveau Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Leather, Oak
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1950s Japanese Chinoiserie Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Paper
19th Century American Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Leather, Canvas, Wood
1930s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
1970s Belgian Post-Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Concrete, Steel
Late 19th Century English Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Leather, Canvas, Wood
20th Century Unknown Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Early 20th Century European Gothic Revival Screens and Room Dividers
Metal, Wrought Iron
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Plywood
19th Century Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Antique and Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Whether they are implemented as decorative accents or makeshift partitions to ensure privacy, antique and vintage folding screens and room dividers easily introduce sophistication and depth to any space in your home.
The earliest examples of folding screens are said to have originated in China and go back at least as far as the Han dynasty. Screens of the era were heavy structures made of wood and had hinges of cloth or leather. They were adorned with elaborate landscape paintings that were typically created on silk or paper canvases and applied directly to the screen’s panels afterward. Just as they had been in the 20th century and today, the folding screens then were recognized for both their practical and purely decorative properties.
Japanese room-divider screens were also decorated with paintings but constructed to be lightweight and mobile. They took on considerable event-based importance when the structures gained popularity in the East Asian country, as the folding screens were used in performing arts such as concerts, tea ceremonies and more. Later, artists elsewhere warmed to folding screens and sought to create their own.
In European countries such as France, where they were known as paravent, folding screens began to materialize in apartments in Paris, gaining favor with the likes of pioneering couturier Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, who is said to have accrued more than 30 and used them as a precursor to what we now know as wallpaper.
On 1stDibs, find a wide range of antique and vintage folding screens and room dividers, which, given their history, may do a better job of bringing people and cultures together in your home than sectioning off a space. Search by material to find options in metal, fabric or wood, or browse by style for mid-century modern designs and examples from the Art Deco era.