Screens and Room Dividers
Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Textile
1990s Italian Post-Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric
Late 19th Century English Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wool, Wood, Walnut
2010s American Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Oak
Early 19th Century European Gothic Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Oak, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Jacquard
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Organic Material
1970s Italian Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Mid-19th Century French Art Deco Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Ironstone
1950s French Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric, Wood
20th Century Industrial Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
2010s Italian Organic Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Nickel, Brass, Aluminum, Metal
Late 19th Century Chinese Qing Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Mother-of-Pearl, Wood, Lacquer
1990s American Post-Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Leather, Walnut
Early 20th Century Chinese Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Screens and Room Dividers
Glass, Mirror, Wood
Late 18th Century English George III Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Paint
1850s English Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Walnut
20th Century American Art Deco Screens and Room Dividers
Glass, Maple
1890s Chinese Export Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Brass, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Organic Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Bog Wood
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Screens and Room Dividers
Stainless Steel
Mid-19th Century French Beaux Arts Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
18th Century Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Leather, Wood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Acrylic
Late 19th Century French Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric, Wood
1930s American Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Oak, Glass
Early 19th Century French Empire Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
Late 18th Century Italian Grand Tour Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Burlap, Mahogany
1890s Italian Art Nouveau Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Steel, Iron
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wrought Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Screens and Room Dividers
Stainless Steel
1940s American Industrial Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
Late 19th Century English Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Early 20th Century Austrian Art Nouveau Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric, Bamboo
Early 20th Century American Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
Late 19th Century Late Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Paper, Wood
Early 20th Century Dutch Art Deco Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Pine
21st Century and Contemporary French Screens and Room Dividers
Driftwood
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1760s English Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wool, Mahogany
Early 1900s English Edwardian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
Mid-20th Century American Art Deco Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Early 20th Century Chinese Ming Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
2010s Chinese Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wrought Iron
2010s Italian Minimalist Screens and Room Dividers
Lacquer, Oak
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Terracotta, Rosewood
Late 19th Century French Louis XV Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Satin, Wood
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.