Screens and Room Dividers
19th Century French Louis XV Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Giltwood, Paint
1890s French Art Nouveau Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Paint
Late 20th Century American Post-Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Cane, Wood
Early 19th Century Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas, Wood
19th Century French Louis XIV Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Paper
1850s French Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Giltwood
1970s Czech Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
Late 20th Century French Screens and Room Dividers
Iron
19th Century French Louis XV Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
19th Century English Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Mahogany
1970s Italian Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Terracotta, Rosewood
1970s Spanish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo
Late 20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
19th Century French Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
Early 19th Century European Gothic Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Oak, Paint
Late 20th Century Dutch Minimalist Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Late 19th Century Chinese Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Silk
Late 20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Early 19th Century British Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Mahogany
1870s Moroccan Aesthetic Movement Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Mother-of-Pearl, Wood
Early 19th Century French Empire Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
Late 19th Century English Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wool, Wood, Walnut
1970s Italian Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Seagrass, Bamboo
1990s British Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Maple
Mid-19th Century Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Mirror
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
Late 20th Century Hollywood Regency Screens and Room Dividers
19th Century English Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Upholstery, Walnut
Mid-19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Silk, Wood
Late 19th Century French Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric, Wood
Late 19th Century Indian Anglo Raj Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Hardwood
Mid-19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Silk, Giltwood
Mid-19th Century European Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Rosewood, Wood, Wool
1990s North American Aesthetic Movement Screens and Room Dividers
Plexiglass, Wood
1970s American Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Silver
19th Century Chinese Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Late 19th Century English Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Mid-19th Century French Art Deco Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Ironstone
1890s Napoleon III Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Oak
1980s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Aluminum
Mid-19th Century French Beaux Arts Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
Late 19th Century English French Provincial Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas, Glass, Wood, Paint
1990s Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Patent Leather
Mid-19th Century French Louis Philippe Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Ironstone
Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Gold Leaf
Early 19th Century French Neoclassical Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas, Paint, Paper
1970s American Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Silver
1890s Chinese Export Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Teak
19th Century Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
19th Century English Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Mahogany
19th Century Japanese Meiji Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Gold Leaf
1850s English Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Walnut
1980s Swedish Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Aluminum
Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Glass, Hardwood
Early 1800s English Georgian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Fruitwood
1990s Italian Post-Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric
19th Century French Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas
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.