19th Century Japanese Meiji Four Panel Screen Festival Scenes
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Colorful late 19th century late Meiji period four-panel byobu screen featuring 12 scenes of a festival preparation.
Brass
Japanese Meiji Four Panel Screen Ducks and Geese in Flight
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Serene late 19th century Japanese Meiji Period four-panel screen capturing ducks and geese mid-flight across a tranquil, dreamlike landscape with clouds.
Brass
Meiji Period Japanese Four Panel Screen Bijin At Leisure
Located in Hudson, NY
Japanese four panel screen: Bijin At Leisure. Ladies in a tea house with a small dog.
Silk, Wood
19th Century Shibayama Four Panel Screen Meiji Period Japan, C.1880
Located in London, GB
19th century Shibayama four Panel screen Meiji Period Japan C.1880 Mother of pearl inlay in black lacquer depicting a bird in relief with cherry blossom.
Mother-of-Pearl, Wood, Lacquer
Japanese Asian Edo Meiji Four Panel Folding Byobu Screen Lakeside & Maple Tree
Located in Studio City, CA
A beautiful, quite engaging four-panel Edo Period Japanese Byobu folding screen depicting a nature landscape lakeside scene with various people fishing, boating, playing along the mi...
Gold Leaf
Japanese Meiji Period Four-Panel Screen w Flying Cranes and Landscape, Ca. 1900
Located in New York, NY
Japanese Meiji Period Four-Panel Screen with Flying Cranes and Landscape, Ca. 1900 DIMENSIONS Wid...
Wood
Japanese Four Panel Screen: Early Spring Into Summer
Located in Hudson, NY
Japanese Four Panel Screen: Early Spring Into Summer, Meiji period (1868 -1912) painting of plum in bloom with red camellias on the right and peony and thistle on the left.
Gold Leaf
Antique Japanese Hand-Painted Four-Panel Folding Table Screen
Located in Miami, FL
Antique Japanese hand-painted four-panel folding table screen depicting birds, bamboo and flowering branches. Painted on paper with a silk border and wood framed. Height: 35" wid...
Paper, Silk, Wood
Japanese Meiji Four Panel Screen After Tawaraya Sotatsu
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Fascinating late 19th century Japanese Meiji period four panel folding byobu screen. Made in the Nihonga school style with Rimpa school influence and bearing a Rimpa school seal Inen.
Brass
Japanese Meiji Four Panel Screen White Egrets in Winter Landscape
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Late 19th century serene Japanese Meiji period four panel folding byobu screen featuring a flock of white egrets in a misty winter landscape.
Silk, Wood, Paper
Japanese Four-Panel Byobu Screen of Cranes and Willow on Gold Leaf
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Early 20th century Japanese Meiji four-panel screen featuring cranes and a willow tree.
Brass, Gold Leaf
Japanese Meiji Four-Panel Moriage Style Chrysanthemum Screen
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Dramatic early 20th century Japanese late Meiji period Byobu screen featuring painted chrysanthemums. Made in a rare moriage design with raised white flowers for a beautiful 3D effec...
Brass
Sold
H 68.12 in W 64.18 in D 0.79 in
Red Japanese Lacquer Four-Panels Folding Screen, Meiji Period, 1868-1912
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Red Japanese lacquer four panels folding screen "{yonkyoku byobu}". The panels are decorated with gold highlights.
Lacquer
Japanese Four Panel Screen Flowering Prunus Tree
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Impressive Japanese four panel screen depicting ancient flowering prunus tree with spring blossoms. Painted with ink and color pigments over gilt squares in the Nihonga school style....
Brass
Japanese Four-Panel Screen Prunus Tree with Nandina
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Colorful Japanese four-panel screen depicting a prunus tree with a songbird perched in a red fruiting Nandina or sacred bamboo. Made in the Nihonga school style. Ink and color pigmen...
Wood, Paper
Japanese Four-Panel Showa Screen Pheasant and Peonies
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Charming Japanese Showa period four-panel screen depicting a pheasant and her chicks next to blooms of colorful red and white peonies. Ink and color pigments on printed paper with gi...
Silk, Wood, Paper
Japanese Four Panel Silk Byobu Screen of Chrysanthemums
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Vintage Japanese four panel silk Byobu screen of delicate chrysanthemums and a small bird. Features a hand-painted gold silk ground bordered with a silk brocade. Water damage stain o...
Brass
Japanese Four-Panel Screen Quail in Autumn Landscape
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Serene Japanese four-panel byobu screen depicting three quail in an autumn landscape with eulalia, pampas grass and Chinese bellflowers. Ink and color on gold color paper made in the...
Brass
Japanese Four-Panel Blue Mountain Landscape Byobu Screen
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Dramatic Japanese four-panel landscape byobu screen featuring a blue mountain landscape scene. Painted on silk reminiscent of a Chinese splash color artist style with deep hues of gr...
Brass
Japanese Four Panel Screen of Ducks and Prunus on Gold Leaf
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Colorful Japanese four panel byobu folding screen depicting a pair of ducks near a prunus blossom flowering tree. Bordered by silk and set into an ebonized wood frame. Beautifully pa...
Gold Leaf
Japanese Four Panel Screen Buck and Doe with Autumn Maple on Gold
Located in Hudson, NY
Japanese four panel screen: Buck and doe with autumn maple on gold.
Gold Leaf
Japanese Meiji Period Screen of Red-Crowned Cranes
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Impressive Japanese four-panel Meiji period screen depicting a landscape scene with cranes.
Brass
Japanese Four-Panel Byobu Screen of Quail and Flowers
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Beautiful Japanese four-panel Byobu screen featuring Japanese quail and spring flowers on a gilt background. Set with a silk brocade border in an ebonized wood frame. Signed and seal...
Silk, Wood, Paint, Paper
Sold
H 4.75 in W 8.75 in D 0.25 in
Bronze Mixed Metal Japanese Meiji Era Four Panel 2 Sided Table Screen Signed
Located in Ann Arbor, MI
A good Japanese bronze and shakudo miniature table screen, Meiji period, each panel in a gilt bronze frame, one panel depicts figures caught in a rainstorm with lightning, signed low...
Bronze
Weathered Japanese Meiji Four Panel Screen Tale of Genji
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Beautifully aged and weathered late 19th century Japanese Meiji period four-panel byobu screen featuring a scene from the Tale of Genji.
Silk, Wood, Paper
Japanese Meiji Four Panel Screen Chrysanthemums Along a Fence
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Extraordinary Japanese late Meiji period four panel screen depicting colorful chrysanthemums growing along a brushwood fence.
Brass, Silver Leaf
Japanese Meiji Four Panel Screen Wild Geese Over Reeds
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Muromachi period inspired Japanese four panel byobu screen depicting wild geese in flight over reeds.
Brass
Japanese Meiji Four Panel Screen Flowering Grasses of Autumn
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Remarkable late 19th century Meiji period Japanese four panel byobu screen featuring the flowering grasses of autumn: Chinese bellflower, bush clover, and ominaeshi (Patrinia Scabios...
Silver Leaf
Japanese Meiji Period Four-Panel Landscape Screen
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Dramatic Japanese late Meiji early Showa period landscape screen titled Mountain Residence. Ink and color pigments on paper made in the Nihonga school style. Signed Sankyo and dated ...
Brass
Japanese Four-Panel Screen Water Landscape
Located in Hudson, NY
Japanese four-panel screen: Water landscape, Meiji period (1868-1912) painting of a waterfall on the left, leading to a meandering stream amongst a hilly landscape.
Silver Leaf
Japanese Four-Panel Byobu Gilt Landscape Screen
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Large Japanese four-panel Byobu screen featuring a painted mountain landscape on a gilt background. Beautiful and delicate scene of rivers and valleys. Signed with a seal on the lowe...
Brass
Japanese Four-Panel Silk Landscape Byobu Screen
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Exceptional Japanese four-panel Byobu screen of a mountain landscape painted on silk. The background features mountains and waterfalls with a small treed village in the center. The s...
Brass
Japanese Four-Panel Flowers of Autumn Byobu Screen
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Gorgeous Japanese four-panel byobu screen depicting colorful flowers of autumn. Chrysanthemum (kiku) and Rose of Sharon (Mukuge) painted on gilt printed paper with squares. Ink, colo...
Silk, Paper, Wood
Japanese Four-Panel Screen Winter Pine with Ducks
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Unique Japanese four-panel screen depicting a cool winter landscape with pine, prunus, and bamboo. Two colorful ducks on a pond in the background of this idyllic setting. Ink and col...
Silk, Glass, Paper, Wood
Japanese Four-Panel Kano School Manchurian Crane Screen
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Colorful Japanese four-panel screen made in the kano school style depicting five Manchurian cranes or red-crowned cranes. Interesting landscape with a setting red sun and vivid blue ...
Silver Leaf, Brass
Japanese Four-Panel Painted Silk Landscape Byobu Screen
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Idyllic Japanese four panel painted silk Byobu screen depicting a snow covered landscape with a pagoda. Intricate trees and foliage delicately covered with snow under a cloudy sky se...
Brass
Hand Painted Four Panel Japanese Byobu Screen Circa 1960s
Located in Peabody, MA
A hand painted Japanese byobu screen of four panels, ca. 1960s, depicting an abstract assemblage of musicians. Inscribed "The Tale of Genji", and "Moon Viewing Party". Fully o...
Paint
Japanese Showa Period Floral Foliate Four-Panel Screen
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Captivating Japanese Showa four-panel byobu screen depicting a floral and foliate scene. Interesting style in which the artist has created a painting with an aged and distressed pati...
Brass
Japanese Four Panel Screen Peacock and Flowering Magnolia
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Gorgeous Japanese four-panel byobu screen featuring a peacock perched in a flowering magnolia tree. Made in the Nihonga school style with ink and color pigments on gilt squares. Sign...
Silk, Wood, Paint, Paper
Japanese Four Panel Screen Irises on Silver Leaf
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Fantastic Japanese four panel Byobu screen featuring hand painted irises on squares of metallic silver leaf. Set in a lakeside landscape with wooden docks. The screen is signed and s...
Brass, Silver Leaf
Japanese Four Panel Screen Gold Leaf Flower Cart
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Lovely Japanese four-panel Byobu screen featuring a vibrant and colorful flower cart painted on squares of gold leaf with beautiful pink peonies, wisteria, white chrysanthemums, and ...
Gold Leaf, Brass
Japanese Four-Panel Rimpa Screen Floral Autumn Landscape
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Magnificent Japanese four-panel 19th century Meiji screen. Made in the Rimpa School style depicting a serene floral autumn landscape.
Brass, Gold Leaf, Silver Leaf
Japanese Kano School Four Panel Screen Birds and Owl
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Amazing 19th century Japanese Meiji period four-panel byobu screen featuring painted panels depicting egrets, heron, pheasants, songbirds, and an owl.
Gold Leaf
Japanese Four-Panel Byobu Screen of Irises on Gilt
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Colorful Japanese four-panel byobu screen featuring watercolor painted irises on gilt background. Beautiful watercolor painting on squares of gilt. Sign and seal on left side. Set in...
Brass
Japanese Four-Panel Byobu Screen of Quail in Grass
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Charming Japanese four-panel byobu screen depicting two young quail in Eulalia grasses. Beautifully painted with fine grass and flowers over squares of gold leaf. The screen is set i...
Gold Leaf, Brass
Japanese Four-Panel Byobu Screen Sakura Cherry Blossom Tree
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Dramatic Japanese four-panel Byobu screen featuring a large Sakura or cherry blossom tree on squares of gold leaf paper. The beautifully painted branches Stand out against the gilt b...
Silk, Wood, Paint, Paper
Japanese Edo Four Panel Screen Flowering White Chrysanthemums
Located in Rio Vista, CA
19th century extraordinary Japanese late Edo/early Meiji period four-panel byobu screen featuring flowering white chrysanthemums painted in a moriage (raised pigment) style.
Brass, Gold Leaf
Sold
H 36 in W 72 in D 1 in
Japanese Asian Signed Four-Panel Folding Byobu Screen Ducks on Pond 19th Century
Located in Studio City, CA
A gorgeous four-panel Japanese Byobu folding screen depicting two ducks on a tranquil pond with colorful floral landscape touches.
Gold Leaf
Sold
H 30 in W 48 in D 0.75 in
Antique Japanese Four Panel Byobu Screen: Mandarin Ducks by Snowy Pond in Early
Located in Denver, CO
Antique Japanese Four Panel Byobu Screen: Mandarin Ducks by Snowy Pond in Early Spring. Kano School painting of a weeping willow tree with branches over a stunning indigo blue pond. ...
Metal, Gold Leaf
Japanese Screen, Four Panels Japanese Screen on Spring Gold Leaf
By Japanese Studio
Located in Brescia, IT
Spring landscape by an unknown painter of the Rinpa school, XX th century, six-panel ink painted on gold leaf on rice paper. The flowers are made with the "gofun" technique, natural...
Gold Leaf
Sold
H 67.33 in W 97.64 in D 0.79 in
Japanese Folding Screen four Panels painted on gold leaf -Japanese Byobu
By Japanese Studio
Located in Brescia, IT
Japanese Kano school four-panel screen, with pine trees near the sea kissed by the sun. Hand painted with mineral pigments and inks on vegetable paper and gold leaf. Good condition o...
Gold Leaf
Japanese Maple Leaf Screen
Located in San Francisco, CA
Antique Japanese Meiji-period four-panel signed byobu (screen). Signature of the artist in the right corner.
Japanese Embroidered Silk Four-Panel Folding Screen
Located in Locarno, CH
Beautiful Japanese folding screen from the Meiji period (1868-1912). The structure is made in ebonized wood with a filling of newspapers. The front part is embroidered in silk and sh...
Wood, Silk
19th Century Japanese Edo Screen Kano School Garden Terrace
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Fantastic 19th century Japanese Edo/Tokugawa period two-panel byobu screen featuring Chinese children frolicking on a garden terrace with a pavilion and large pine tree. Made in the ...
Brass, Gold Leaf
$2,050
H 34 in W 44 in D 1 in
Antique Japanese Hand Carved, Black Lacquer Table Top 4-Panel Folding Screen
Located in Pasadena, CA
Black lacquer panels decorated with carved Mother of Pearl + Bone Birds and cherry blossom branches.
Bone, Mother-of-Pearl, Wood
Chinese Six-Panel Lacquer Screen
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Chinese six-panel lacquer screen. This lovely and versatile screen is in the great style of Coco Chanel who loved to decorate with Coromandel screens. One front on a black backgrou...
Wood
Chinese Export Six Panel Coromandel Screen Gilt Courtyard
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Stunning 20th century Chinese export lacquered six-panel coromandel screen depicting a lush courtyard over a dramatic gold leaf ground. The lacquered panels are incised and painted w...
Brass
Chinese Export Four Panel Gilt Lacquered Coromandel Screen
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Extraordinary Chinese export four-panel coromandel screen featuring a pagoda pavilion landscape with a dramatic gold leaf background. The black lacquered panels are incised with vibr...
Brass, Gold Leaf
Chinese Qing Four Panel Lacquered Incised Coromandel Screen
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Rare unusual late 19th century/early 20th-century Chinese Qing four-panel coromandel screen. The front features dark red lacquer decorated with scholars objects and small landscape s...
Brass
$3,400Sale Price|29% Off
H 66 in W 139.5 in D 0.5 in
Japanese Edo Six Panel Screen Yoshitsune and Benkei
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Spectacular 19th century Japanese late Edo period six-panel byobu screen depicting Yoshitsune and Benkei, two heroes of Japanese folklore. Crafted in ink and natural color pigments o...
Brass, Gold Leaf
Chinese Export Four Panel Red Lacquered Chinoiserie Gilt Screen
Located in Rio Vista, CA
A highly decorative four-panel red lacquer folding Chinese Export Coromandel screen, richly decorated with a continuous flora and fauna Chinoiserie garden scene. The front features a...
Brass
19th C. Japanese Edo Six Panel Screen Chinese Official's Gathering
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Grand Japanese Edo period six panel folding byobu screen depicting a large gathering of a Chinese official. The painting is set in a lovely garden terrace with a high-ranking Chinese...
Wood, Paper
Chinese Export Six Panel Coromandel Screen Gilt Courtyard
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Exceptional 20th century Chinese export six panel coromandel screen featuring a busy idyllic courtyard scene with a dramatic gilt background. The screen has six panels lacquered and ...
Brass
Chinese Export Eight-Panel Lacquered Coromandel Screen
Located in Tarry Town, NY
Beautifully hand painted and decorated grand scale Chinese export Eight-panel Coromandel screen featuring different hand painted Chinese scene on each side. One side depicting an han...
Brass
Chinese Export Six Panel Lacquered Coromandel Screen Courtyard
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Vibrant 20th century Chinese export coromandel screen depicting a walled pagoda courtyard. The lacquered panels are incised and decorated with colorful pigments of green, red, and wh...
Brass
$4,648Sale Price|31% Off
H 79 in W 82 in D 0.75 in
19th Century Painted & Gilt Decorated 4 Panel Screen
Located in Huntington, NY
19th Century4 Panel Painted & Gilt Decorated 4 Panel Screen
Brass
Japanese Edo Six Panel Screen Chinese Children at Play
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Amazing 19th century Japanese Edo period six panel folding byobu screen depicting Chinese children at play. The screen alludes to the 100 children theme. The paintings are set in a l...
Gold Leaf
Japanese Edo Six Panel Table Screen After Maruyama Okyo
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Fantastic diminutive Japanese Edo period table top screen depicting a lively water landscape with flora and fauna. The screen is beautifully painted on gold leaf with a pair of pheas...
Brass, Gold Leaf
Large Japanese Six-Panel Folding Screen with Cranes
Located in Fukuoka, JP
A large six-panel folding screen (byōbu) forming a pair with the previously presented crane screen. This screen features a striking composition of cranes: one with wings majestically...
Wood, Paper
Japanese Showa Two Panel Screen Egrets in Grass
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Stunning Japanese Showa period two-panel folding byobu screen depicting three egrets in the grass at a pond. The large screen features a dramatic gold leaf square background with nat...
Wood, Paper
Set of Two Gilt Japanese Paintings
Located in Westwood, NJ
A set of two Japanese paintings, each with a hand gilt background depicting a Japanese Magnolia painted sans traverse across the two panels. The originals Japanese, circa 1900. Dime...
Wood, Giltwood
$9,790 / item
H 39.38 in W 9.85 in D 31.5 in
Parchment, Brass and Glass Table Lamp by Diego Mardegan for Glustin Luminaires
By Diego Mardegan
Located in Saint-Ouen, IDF
Ventola table lamp by the artist Diego Mardegan exclusively for Glustin Luminaires. Beautiful two ways shade made of a brass structure, parchemin paper and waxed fabric hold by an...
Brass
$2,904
H 66.93 in W 74.02 in D 1.19 in
Antique Two-Panel Screen with Gold and Grass Design, Good Condition
Located in Fukuoka, JP
This graceful two-panel screen captures the essence of summer with its subtle depiction of slender grasses and fine lines, artfully arranged against a golden background. The screen e...
Gold Leaf
Early 20th Century Japanese Nihonga Screen. Bamboo Forest.
Located in Kyoto, JP
Anonymous Bamboo Forest Early Taisho era. Circa 1910-1915. Six-panel Japanese Screen. Mineral pigment, gofun and ink on silk. A six-panel Japanese folding screen, painted on silk in...
Silk
Japanese Meiji Two Panel Screen Birds Flowers in Autumn Landscape
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Exceptional 19th century Japanese two-panel late Edo Tokugawa\early Meiji period screen. The painting features clusters of flowering autumnal chrysanthemums and field grasses amid qu...
Wood, Paper, Silk
Japanese screen: Melody of Magnolia Blossoms
Located in Fukuoka, JP
Bathed in radiant gold, Melody of Magnolia Blossoms captures the fleeting harmony of nature in bloom. A graceful magnolia branch arcs across the shimmering surface, its petals unfold...
Wood, Paper
Chinese Export Flora and Fauna Gilt Coromandel Screen 8 Ft
Located in Rio Vista, CA
A rich and dramatic Chinese Export folding six-panel double-sided coromandel screen executed in radiant gilt and lacquer. The front depicts a beautiful composition of twisting brown ...
Brass, Gold Leaf
Japanese Showa Four Panel Screen Spring Flowers on Gilt
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Charming mid-20th century Japanese Showa period four-panel folding byobu screen featuring blossoming spring flowers over a bold gilt background. The painting depicts iris, camella, w...
Brass
$2,250
H 48.25 in W 108.5 in D 0.75 in
Edo-Style Six-Panel Japanese Byobu Screen with Gold Paint Landscape
Located in Hamburg, PA
This Asian screen print is a stunning six-panel byobu (folding screen) featuring a traditional Japanese landscape. The artwork showcases a serene scene with a lakeside pavilion set a...
Wood, Paint, Paper
$5,541
H 67.72 in Dm 38.19 in
Antique Japanese Folding Chamber Screen / Paravent 20th century Japan Cranes
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
A super nice Meiji period 19th c Japanese Chamber Screen. Also usuable as wall mounted screen. Stunning piece!
Bronze
$3,900
H 72 in W 80 in D 1 in
Antique Chinese Figural Black Lacquer Soapstone MOP Folding Screen Room Divider
Located in Dayton, OH
An Exquisite Mid 20th Century Chinoiserie Six Panel Folding Screen. Features a black lacquer frame decorated with a traditional oriental garden scene with raised soapstone figures a...
Soapstone, Brass
Japanese Showa Four-Panel Screen Autumn Landscape Rooster & Hen
Located in Rio Vista, CA
A beautifully rendered Japanese Showa period four-panel folding byōbu screen in the Nihonga school style. The painting depicts a quiet pastoral scene of a pair of chickens gathered a...
Gold Leaf
$6,450
H 60 in W 123 in D 0.75 in
Japanese Asian Edo Meiji 6 Panel Folding Byobu Screen Red Crown Cranes Landscape
Located in Studio City, CA
A gorgeous, quite large antique six-panel Japanese Asian Byobu folding screen depicting a landscape scene with red crowned cranes, other playful birds and boldly colored blossoming S...
Gold Leaf
$4,000
H 43.5 in W 80.5 in D 0.75 in
17th Century Japanese Edo Four Panel Screen Hotei with Chinese Sages
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Beautifully weathered late 17th/early 18th century Japanese edo period four panel byobu screen depicting hotei (fat monk) in a treed landscape with Chinese sages engaged in leisurely...
Brass
Vintage Divider w/ Mother of Pearl
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Gorgeous folding screen with mother of pearl designs. Asian style design with birds in trees, all done with iridescent pearl. Each panel is 18" wide, 53" total when open. Please conf...
Brass
From 1868 to 1912, Emperor Mutsuhito oversaw an era of transformation in Japan. Formerly a country of feudalism and isolation, Japan entered an age of modernization influenced by newly established trade and exchange with the West. The Meiji period, or period of “enlightened rule,” also saw the global impact of the East Asian country’s culture. Japanese Meiji furniture was exhibited at expositions from Paris to San Francisco and created for export.
Prior to the Meiji era, furniture was mostly made by commission for the ruling class; now there were new domestic and international markets. European styles like Japonisme appropriated Japanese design while craftsmen in places like Wales and England employed japanning, a varnishing technique that approximated the appearance of lacquer for the surfaces of furnishings.
Meiji furniture made for Japanese homes and buildings constructed in Western styles resulted in taller tables, chairs, cabinets with large drawers and other features. The government invested in areas such as transportation and communication, and because people could freely choose occupations after the restrictions of feudalism, industries of various types were energized by expressive new ideas during those years. Art schools were formed and, for the first time, design was an area of study in the country, leading to the evolution of professional design as a career by the 1890s.
The work of Japanese designers was transmitted widely through lavishly illustrated pattern books that included designs for screens and lacquerware for the home. While screens today may be of use as decorative accents or partitions to ensure privacy in one’s space, Japanese screens were adorned with paintings and were featured in performing arts such as concerts, tea ceremonies and more. The color illustrations that characterize Meiji woodblock prints, a genre of Japanese art that grew out of 17th-century developments in printing and book publishing, depicted the sweeping changes that the era brought to East Asia.
Although it was a time of societal and cultural shifts, a bolstered interest in art and design elevated Japanese craft traditions. From colorful porcelain table lamps with silk shades and hardwood tables decorated with dark lacquer to cabinets featuring iron hardware and inlaid with mother-of-pearl, Meiji furniture showcased Japan’s artistic heritage to the world.
Find a collection of antique Japanese Meiji period case pieces and storage cabinets, decorative objects, wall decorations and more furniture on 1stDibs.
Traditional Asian paintings were often created on scrolls and folding screens. Artisans made screens that could be folded up or spread out by connecting several panels using hinges. Today, antique Asian folding screens and paintings are sophisticated decorative accents that can serve as makeshift partitions to ensure privacy.
The original folding screens were created by Chinese artists. The earliest record of screens comes from the 2nd century B.C., and surviving examples date back to the Ming dynasty. Chinese painting utilizes many of the same tools as calligraphy — these screens were crafted from wood with painted panels featuring striking art or calligraphy that told cultural stories or represented nature and life in the area.
The practice was introduced to Japan, where paintings for screens were made on paper and silk, in the 8th century. These paintings frequently feature subjects such as landscapes, animals, flowers and Buddhist religious themes. Along with screens for tea ceremonies and dance backgrounds, there were screens for use in Shinto and Buddhist temples.
In the 17th century, screens began to be imported to Europe where their popularity grew. Coco Chanel famously collected Coromandel folding screens.
Traditional Asian paintings can make a tasteful addition to any wall, and screens can be used as decoration or, in the case of larger iterations, as an aesthetic way to divide a large room. Browse the selection of antique Asian paintings and screens from a variety of styles and eras on 1stDibs.