Screens and Room Dividers
19th Century Arts and Crafts Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Iron
2010s Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1990s Swedish Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Marble, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
2010s European Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Sycamore
2010s Australian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Stainless Steel
2010s Chinese Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Other
2010s Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Aluminum
2010s Lebanese Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Brass, Steel, Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Steel
1990s American Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Mirror, Oak
Mid-20th Century German Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas, Plywood
2010s Belgian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Marble, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern 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.