Screens and Room Dividers
Late 19th Century French Late Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Giltwood
Early 19th Century Empire Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Oak
1880s French Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
2010s Italian Screens and Room Dividers
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
19th Century British Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Paper
Early 19th Century English Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Tapestry, Rosewood
Mid-19th Century French Neoclassical Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
2010s Portuguese Screens and Room Dividers
Lacquer
2010s Portuguese Screens and Room Dividers
Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary French Minimalist Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
19th Century Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric, Wood
2010s Portuguese Post-Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Marble, Gold Leaf
Late 19th Century English Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Leather, Canvas, Wood
19th Century American Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Leather, Canvas, Wood
1880s French Japonisme Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric, Wood, Walnut
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1890s French Louis XVI Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wool, Giltwood
Early 1800s Japanese Edo Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo
Early 2000s Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Aluminum
Mid-19th Century African Moorish Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Bone, Wood
19th Century Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1860s Italian Neoclassical Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas, Paint
1880s American Aesthetic Movement Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Gold Leaf
19th Century Italian Other Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Poplar
19th Century European Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Post-Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Greek Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
19th Century Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
2010s Ukrainian Post-Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Brass, Other
2010s American Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Walnut
2010s American Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Hardwood
2010s Lebanese Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Brass, Stainless Steel, Steel
Late 19th Century English Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Fir
2010s Italian Screens and Room Dividers
Murano Glass, Wood
2010s Indonesian Organic Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Rosewood, Reclaimed Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Walnut
1890s French Art Nouveau Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Silk, Glass
19th Century Rococo Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
2010s French Screens and Room Dividers
Oak
Early 2000s Japanese Screens and Room Dividers
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Screens and Room Dividers
Copper
Mid-19th Century English William IV Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Mahogany
2010s Guatemalan Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Mahogany
19th Century English Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Early 19th Century French Empire Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
2010s British Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Stainless Steel
1890s Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
2010s Scandinavian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas, Oak
19th Century English Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Screens and Room Dividers
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Aluminum
19th Century Spanish Renaissance Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Leather, Wood
1890s Belgian Romantic Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Iron
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.