Screens and Room Dividers
Late 20th Century Philippine Chinese Chippendale Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo
1980s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Metal, Brass
1970s French Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric, Wood
1970s Italian Hollywood Regency Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo, Rattan, Wood
Late 20th Century Philippine Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo
Late 20th Century American Screens and Room Dividers
Rattan
1970s American Brutalist Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wrought Iron
1980s Japanese Post-Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Hardwood
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1930s Italian Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Paper
1970s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wrought Iron
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wrought Iron
1970s French Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1970s Hollywood Regency Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Late 20th Century American Screens and Room Dividers
Steel
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wrought Iron
1980s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Aluminum
Late 20th Century Chinese Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1990s American Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Rosewood
Late 20th Century Chinese Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1930s Japonisme Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Lacquer
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1980s French Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
1970s French Art Nouveau Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo, Seagrass
1930s French Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
1930s Mexican Rancho Monterey Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Foil, Gold Leaf
1970s European Organic Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Steel, Cut Steel
1980s European Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Iron
1970s French Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Glass
1970s North American Post-Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Iron
Late 20th Century Philippine Screens and Room Dividers
Rattan
1990s Swedish Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric
1970s Italian Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Plastic, Beech
1970s American Brutalist Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Resin, Smoked Glass
Late 20th Century French Screens and Room Dividers
Stainless Steel
Vintage Screens and Antique Room Dividers on 1stDibs: Japanese Screens, Chinese Screens and Art Deco Screens for Sale
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.