Screens and Room Dividers
Mid-20th Century Unknown Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Paint
Mid-20th Century Czech Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Beech, Bentwood
1950s Mexican Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Glass, Wood
Late 19th Century Chinese Chinese Export Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Elm
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas
1950s Italian Hollywood Regency Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Mirror, Wood
1970s Unknown Organic Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
Early 20th Century Victorian Screens and Room Dividers
Paper, Wood
Mid-20th Century Spanish Rococo Revival Screens and Room Dividers
Wrought Iron
20th Century Japanese Anglo-Japanese Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Paint, Paper
2010s Italian Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1970s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo, Rattan
20th Century Chinese Chinoiserie Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Mid-20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo, Rattan
1870s French Empire Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Mid-20th Century Czech Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Bentwood, Plywood
Early 19th Century Louis XVI Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Hardwood
1930s Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas
Late 19th Century Chinese Chinese Export Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Elm
1960s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
1950s American Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Rattan
2010s Italian Other Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Rattan
19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Tapestry, Giltwood
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
1980s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Steel
2010s Mexican Organic Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Oak
Mid-20th Century Thai Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Teak
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Silver Leaf
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Metal, Wrought Iron
19th Century French Chinoiserie Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas, Silk, Wood, Giltwood
21st Century and Contemporary French Screens and Room Dividers
Rope
2010s Portuguese Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1940s Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Rattan
1930s American Greco Roman Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wrought Iron
1960s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
19th Century Belgian Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Hardwood, Walnut
1820s English Regency Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Silk, Lacquer
20th Century American Regency Screens and Room Dividers
Cane
1970s French Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Teak
1940s French Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Iron, Wrought Iron
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Lacquer
20th Century French Louis XVI Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric, Wood
Early 20th Century English Edwardian Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
1960s American Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
19th Century Unknown Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Leather
2010s Portuguese Screens and Room Dividers
Lacquer
18th Century European Baroque Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
19th Century British Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Paper
1950s Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
1970s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Plexiglass, Beech
20th Century Screens and Room Dividers
Silk
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Steel
Late 20th Century American Bohemian Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Early 20th Century Japanese Taisho Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Lacquer, Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Post-Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
Antique and Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
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.