Screens and Room Dividers
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Late 20th Century Chinese Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Late 20th Century Chinoiserie Screens and Room Dividers
Mahogany
1970s American Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Metal, Enamel, Steel
1970s Italian Regency Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo
1970s Unknown Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Late 19th Century German Black Forest Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric, Oak
Late 20th Century Hollywood Regency Screens and Room Dividers
Mirror
1840s French Louis Philippe Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Mid-19th Century French Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas
1990s American Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas, Paint
19th Century Japanese Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Paper
1970s French Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Lacquer
1970s North American Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Rattan
19th Century French Baroque Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Giltwood
1970s North American Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Rattan
Late 20th Century American Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Paint
1970s Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Leather, Suede
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Plastic, Wood
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Maple
1980s Organic Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Rattan, Reed
1970s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Plastic, Beech
Late 19th Century British Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
Late 19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric, Wood, Damask
Late 20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Iron
1970s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Leather
1990s American Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Wire
Early 19th Century British Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Walnut
1970s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Lacquer, Paint
Late 19th Century Italian Neoclassical Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas, Wood, Paint
1980s Unknown Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Late 20th Century Screens and Room Dividers
Paper
1880s High Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Mid-19th Century English George III Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Mahogany
1970s French Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Mid-19th Century French Louis XV Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
19th Century French Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Late 19th Century Chinese Qing Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Elm
1890s French Belle Époque Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric, Canvas, Paint
1970s Czech Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Late 19th Century French Louis XV Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze, Metal, Wire
1980s French Hollywood Regency Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Plywood
19th Century French Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1890s Japanese Meiji Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
1970s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1980s Post-Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Lacquer
Late 19th Century French Empire Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
1980s North American Chinoiserie Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Paint, Paper
Early 19th Century French Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1970s Italian Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Plywood
1970s North American Organic Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Lucite, Wood, Paint
19th Century European Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Leather, Faux Leather
19th Century Japanese Antique Screens and Room Dividers
19th Century European Louis XV Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wool, Satin, Giltwood
Late 20th Century Austrian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Steel
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.