Screens and Room Dividers
Mid-20th Century Chinese Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
2010s Italian Post-Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Brass, Iron
1970s French Art Nouveau Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
Late 18th Century English George III Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Mahogany
Mid-19th Century Portuguese Other Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1960s European Belle Époque Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Hardwood
2010s Mexican Post-Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Bauhaus Screens and Room Dividers
Glass, Wood
Early 19th Century British Regency Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass, Steel, Wire
20th Century Asian Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1880s Art Nouveau Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
2010s Portuguese Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
2010s Lebanese Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Brass, Steel, Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Post-Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Other
Late 19th Century French Belle Époque Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Tapestry, Wood, Giltwood
2010s Italian Post-Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Other
Mid-19th Century English Sheraton Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Mahogany
1970s North American Post-Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Iron
1950s European Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Formica, Wood
Early 1800s English Georgian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Fruitwood
Early 1900s English Regency Revival Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
19th Century French Neoclassical Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
2010s European Screens and Room Dividers
Textile, Poplar, Plywood
Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Mahogany
2010s Chinese Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Other
Early 1900s Thai Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Late 19th Century English Late Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Mahogany, Satinwood
2010s Portuguese Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Screens and Room Dividers
Gold Leaf
Late 20th Century French Art Deco Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric, Wood
Mid-19th Century French Beaux Arts Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
2010s Finnish Post-Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Ash, Cork
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Early 20th Century French Belle Époque Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric, Wood, Giltwood
2010s Mexican Anglo-Japanese Screens and Room Dividers
Paper
Early 20th Century French Screens and Room Dividers
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Screens and Room Dividers
Tin
Early 20th Century Italian Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Fabric
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
2010s Belgian Post-Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Oak
1970s Italian Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo, Seagrass
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Screens and Room Dividers
Silver
1960s American Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Lacquer
2010s European Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Sycamore
2010s Italian Post-Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Brass, Iron
2010s Belgian Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
2010s Dutch Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Steel
1940s French Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wrought Iron
Early 20th Century Gothic Screens and Room Dividers
Oak
Mid-20th Century European Screens and Room Dividers
Iron
1870s Louis XIV Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Steel
Late 19th Century French Aesthetic Movement Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Paint
1970s Italian Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Vintage Screens and Antique Room Dividers on 1stDibs: Japanese Screens, Chinese Screens and Art Deco Screens for Sale
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.