Paravent Louis Xvi
Early 20th Century French Louis XVI Screens and Room Dividers
Hardwood
People Also Browsed
2010s British Louis XVI Sofas
Giltwood
Vintage 1980s Italian Neoclassical Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
Antique 18th Century Italian Country Blanket Chests
Wood
Antique Early 18th Century Italian Baroque Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas, Wood
Antique Mid-19th Century Folk Art Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Antique Early 1900s Italian Neoclassical Buffets
Pine
Antique Early 1900s Italian Neoclassical Secretaires
Brass
Antique 18th Century Italian Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Wood
Antique 18th Century and Earlier Italian Secretaires
Antique 18th Century Italian Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Paint
Early 20th Century Italian Art Nouveau Magazine Racks and Stands
Walnut
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
Gesso, Hardwood
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
Brass
Antique Mid-19th Century Italian Renaissance Revival Bookcases
Iron
Recent Sales
Antique 19th Century Louis XVI Screens and Room Dividers
Antique 1780s French Louis XVI Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas
Early 20th Century French Louis XVI Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Damask
Antique 1880s French Screens and Room Dividers
Finding the Right screens-room-dividers for You
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.