New in Screens and Room Dividers
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern New in Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export New in Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
Mid-20th Century European Scandinavian Modern New in Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
19th Century Belgian Victorian Antique New in Screens and Room Dividers
Hardwood, Walnut
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern New in Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
18th Century French Louis XIV Antique New in Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1970s Mexican Organic Modern Vintage New in Screens and Room Dividers
Rattan, Hardwood
Early 19th Century English Regency Antique New in Screens and Room Dividers
Rosewood
21st Century and Contemporary Argentine Art Deco New in Screens and Room Dividers
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary French New in Screens and Room Dividers
Rope
1990s Italian Post-Modern New in Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric
2010s American Modern New in Screens and Room Dividers
Hardwood
Late 18th Century Italian Neoclassical Antique New in Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas
20th Century American Post-Modern New in Screens and Room Dividers
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern New in Screens and Room Dividers
Chestnut
2010s American Modern New in Screens and Room Dividers
Walnut
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage New in Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
20th Century Chinese Chinese Export New in Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Early 20th Century French Art Deco New in Screens and Room Dividers
Wrought Iron
20th Century Chinese Chinese Export New in Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
20th Century Chinese Chinese Export New in Screens and Room Dividers
Brass, Silver Leaf
1970s American Vintage New in Screens and Room Dividers
Mahogany, Glass
2010s Guatemalan Modern New in Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Mahogany
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.