Screens and Room Dividers
2010s Mexican Post-Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Steel
Mid-20th Century Chinese Qing Screens and Room Dividers
Silk, Hardwood
1950s Finnish Organic Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
2010s American Screens and Room Dividers
Silver, Other
1960s Indonesian Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo
1950s American Other Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Fiberglass
1920s Chinese Chinese Export Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
Late 20th Century Hollywood Regency Screens and Room Dividers
Mirror
2010s French Screens and Room Dividers
Metal, Stainless Steel
Early 20th Century Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Paper
1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Teak
Mid-20th Century Chinese Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Lacquer, Paint
1950s Brutalist Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Soapstone
19th Century Chinese Qing Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
19th Century Japanese Edo Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass, Gold Leaf
Mid-20th Century Organic Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Wicker, Wood
19th Century French Louis XV Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
1970s European Organic Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Steel, Cut Steel
Mid-19th Century French Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas
1970s European Organic Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Cut Steel
1920s Victorian Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1980s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Laminate
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
Mid-18th Century German Rococo Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas
1810s French Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Silk, Mahogany
2010s Danish Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
Late 19th Century Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Bog Wood
Late 19th Century Chinese Ming Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Hardwood, Paint
20th Century English Victorian Screens and Room Dividers
Upholstery, Hardwood
19th Century French Baroque Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Giltwood
1940s Scandinavian Scandinavian Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Beech
1930s American Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Silver Leaf
Mid-20th Century Japanese Victorian Screens and Room Dividers
Soapstone
19th Century Chinoiserie Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Teak
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary French Screens and Room Dividers
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary North American Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Paper
Mid-20th Century American Arts and Crafts Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Early 20th Century French Screens and Room Dividers
Mirror
20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
2010s Indian Art Deco Screens and Room Dividers
Bone, Resin, Wood
Early 20th Century English Arts and Crafts Screens and Room Dividers
Copper
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Teak
Early 19th Century English Regency Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Palisander
20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Mid-20th Century Asian Chinoiserie Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1960s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
1970s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Minimalist Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric
Early 18th Century Italian Baroque Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas, Wood
19th Century English Arts and Crafts Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Mid-20th Century Screens and Room Dividers
Iron
1980s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Copper
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Mahogany
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century 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.