Screens and Room Dividers
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Paint
20th Century Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1940s Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Rattan
Mid-19th Century Portuguese Other Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Early 1900s British Chinoiserie Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Lacquer
1990s Art Deco Screens and Room Dividers
Lacquer
Late 18th Century Italian Neoclassical Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas
2010s Screens and Room Dividers
Copper
19th Century Chinese Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Elm
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Birch
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
2010s Portuguese Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Oak
Mid-19th Century British Early Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Oak
1880s Arts and Crafts Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Iron
1880s Arts and Crafts Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Steel
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Iron
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Ash, Plywood
Late 19th Century Italian Baroque Revival Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Mid-20th Century Indian Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Leather, Teak
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Gold Leaf
Mid-20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo, Rattan
Early 19th Century Louis XVI Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Hardwood
1980s Unknown Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1980s Chinese Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1980s Chinese Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1980s Chinese Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1980s Chinese Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Early 19th Century British Regency Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Glass, Giltwood
Mid-20th Century Victorian Screens and Room Dividers
Mahogany
1870s French Empire Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Walnut
Mid-20th Century Italian Hollywood Regency Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Late 20th Century Hong Kong Chinoiserie Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Lacquer
Late 19th Century British Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Oak
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Cane, Lucite, Wood
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Rosewood
1970s Italian Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Early 20th Century Indian Anglo Raj Screens and Room Dividers
Hardwood
Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Paint, Paper
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Rattan
Mid-20th Century Czech Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Bentwood, Plywood
1950s Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Teak
1950s Unknown Anglo-Indian Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1860s French Napoleon III Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Silk, Giltwood
1980s American Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Paint
2010s Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
19th Century Unknown Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
Late 20th Century American Post-Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Wrought Iron
1950s European Bauhaus Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Pine
1930s Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas
Late 20th Century American Bohemian Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
20th Century Screens and Room Dividers
Mirror, Wood
1940s Italian Other Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Teak, Pine
Early 20th Century American Art Deco Screens and Room Dividers
Lacquer, Paint
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Jacquard, Mahogany
Mid-20th Century Chinoiserie Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
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.