Glas Italia Prism Partition
2010s Italian Minimalist Screens and Room Dividers
Mirror
People Also Browsed
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and...
Metal, Aluminum, Brass
2010s Swedish Minimalist Shelves
Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Chairs
Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary German Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and ...
Metal, Iron
Late 20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Leather, Wood, Beech, Oak
2010s Mexican Modern Dining Room Tables
Hardwood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and...
Aluminum, Brass
2010s Italian Side Tables
Onyx
Vintage 1970s French Wall Lights and Sconces
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Metal
2010s Korean Modern Bookcases
Acrylic
2010s African Modern Side Tables
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and...
Brass
Vintage 1970s Italian Sofas
Mohair
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.