Screens and Room Dividers
1950s Chinese Chinoiserie Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Fir
1890s French Art Nouveau Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Silk, Glass
19th Century Rococo Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Mid-19th Century English William IV Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Mahogany
Early 19th Century French Empire Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
19th Century Italian Neoclassical Revival Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Leather, Wood, Paint
19th Century English Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1890s Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1950s French Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
19th Century English Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
19th Century Spanish Renaissance Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Leather, Wood
1890s Belgian Romantic Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Iron
1810s French Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Silk, Mahogany
1950s American Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Oak
Mid-19th Century Chinese Chinese Export Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Elm, Paint
1830s French Louis Philippe Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas, Wood, Paint
1820s French Empire Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass, Steel
19th Century Belgian Biedermeier Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Glass, Wood
1840s French Louis Philippe Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1880s Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Beech
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Walnut
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
19th Century French Aesthetic Movement Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo, Giltwood, Lacquer
1880s Art Nouveau Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1950s American Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Rattan
19th Century Chinese Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Porcelain
19th Century Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1950s German Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo, Rattan, Wood
1950s Chinese Chinoiserie Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Fiberglass
19th Century English Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
1950s Finnish Organic Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Late 19th Century Chinese Ming Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Hardwood, Paint
Early 19th Century English Regency Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
19th Century Japanese Edo Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass, Gold Leaf
1950s American Other Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
19th Century Italian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas
19th Century Italian Rococo Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Leather, Canvas, Paint
19th Century English Arts and Crafts Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Early 19th Century Chinese Qing Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Paint
Late 19th Century Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Bog Wood
Early 19th Century English Regency Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Palisander
Mid-19th Century French Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas
1950s North American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Plywood, Rosewood
1950s Italian Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
19th Century Chinoiserie Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Teak
1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Beech
1950s Brutalist Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Soapstone
19th Century Chinese Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Elm
19th Century French Grand Tour Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas, Wood
Late 19th Century French Aesthetic Movement Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Paint
Late 19th Century German Black Forest Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric, Oak
19th Century French Louis XV Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Glass, Wood
Early 19th Century French Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
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.