Baleri Italia Cartoons Low Screen
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Aluminum
People Also Browsed
2010s Danish Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Console Tables
Marble, Brass
Vintage 1930s Unknown Art Deco Vitrines
Glass, Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary French Console Tables
Steel
2010s Australian Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Metal
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Velvet, Mirror
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s European Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
Resin
Vintage 1970s American Organic Modern Chaise Longues
Aluminum
Vintage 1950s American Rustic Stools
Metal
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Wardrobes and Armoires
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Beds and Bed Frames
Chrome
2010s French Organic Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Plaster
2010s Portuguese Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Fiberglass
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Daybeds
Metal
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.