Art Deco Screen Dressing

Find many varieties of an authentic art deco screen dressing available at 1stDibs. Frequently made of wood, pine and softwood, every art deco screen dressing was constructed with great care. You’ve searched high and low for the perfect art deco screen dressing — we have versions that date back to the 20th Century alongside those produced as recently as the 20th Century are available. An art deco screen dressing, designed in the Art Deco or mid-century modern style, is generally a popular piece of furniture. Many designers have produced at least one well-made art deco screen dressing over the years, but those crafted by Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Co. Ltd., Jomaine Baumann and S.N.S.A. are often thought to be among the most beautiful.

Prices for an art deco screen dressing start at $678 and top out at $120,379 with the average selling for $3,400.

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.