Screens and Room Dividers
19th Century Belgian Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Hardwood, Walnut
1930s American Greco Roman Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wrought Iron
Mid-20th Century Chinese Chinoiserie Screens and Room Dividers
Metal, Gold Leaf
1960s Italian Chinoiserie Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Giltwood, Paint
19th Century Gothic Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Iron
1820s English Regency Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Silk, Lacquer
1880s Arts and Crafts Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Copper
Mid-20th Century Mexican Folk Art Screens and Room Dividers
Brass, Copper
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Lacquer
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Steel
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Wrought Iron
1940s Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Rattan
1940s American Chinoiserie Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Silver Leaf
1950s Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century American Regency Screens and Room Dividers
Foil
19th Century Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Walnut
19th Century Unknown Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Leather
1960s Japanese Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Paint
Late 19th Century French Late Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Giltwood
Mid-20th Century Japanese Showa Screens and Room Dividers
Gold Leaf
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Late 19th Century Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
19th Century Indian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Mid-20th Century American Regency Screens and Room Dividers
Mirror, Wood
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Rattan
Early 19th Century Empire Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas, Wood
1960s American Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1880s French Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
Mid-20th Century Hollywood Regency Screens and Room Dividers
Tin
1940s French Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Iron, Wrought Iron
1950s Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
1930s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
Mid-19th Century French Neoclassical Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
19th Century Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1940s Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1950s French Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Mirror, Oak
1940s Chinese Hollywood Regency Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
19th Century Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric, Wood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Iron
1960s Japanese Chinoiserie Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Paper
19th Century British Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Paper
Early 19th Century English Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Tapestry, Rosewood
Late 19th Century English Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Leather, Canvas, Wood
1930s Mexican Folk Art Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1950s French Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric, Wood
19th Century American Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Leather, Canvas, Wood
Mid-20th Century Space Age Screens and Room Dividers
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century Screens and Room Dividers
Lacquer
1880s French Japonisme Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric, Wood, Walnut
1930s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
1930s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
1890s French Louis XVI Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wool, Giltwood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Plywood
Mid-20th Century Hong Kong Chinese Export Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Lacquer, Paint
1940s French Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wrought Iron
1860s Italian Neoclassical Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas, Paint
1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric, Oak
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.