Screens and Room Dividers
Late 19th Century English Arts and Crafts Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Birch
Mid-19th Century Portuguese Other Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1990s Art Deco Screens and Room Dividers
Lacquer
Late 20th Century Finnish Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Birch
19th Century Chinese Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Elm
Mid-19th Century British Early Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Oak
1880s Arts and Crafts Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Iron
1880s Arts and Crafts Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Steel
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Ash, Plywood
Late 19th Century Italian Baroque Revival Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Early 19th Century Louis XVI Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Hardwood
1980s Chinese Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1980s Unknown Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1980s Chinese Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1980s Chinese Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1980s Chinese Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Early 19th Century British Regency Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Glass, Giltwood
1870s French Empire Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Late 20th Century Hong Kong Chinoiserie Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Lacquer
Late 19th Century British Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Oak
1970s Italian Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1860s French Napoleon III Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Silk, Giltwood
1980s American Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Paint
19th Century Unknown Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
Late 20th Century American Post-Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Wrought Iron
Late 20th Century American Bohemian Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1970s European Other Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Plywood, Paint
Late 19th Century Chinese Chinese Export Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Elm
19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
Late 19th Century French Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Tapestry, Wood
Early 19th Century British Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1880s Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1970s Thai Bohemian Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo
19th Century French Neoclassical Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Paper
19th Century French Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Glass, Giltwood
1970s Thai Bohemian Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo, Rattan
1980s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Steel
1970s Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Tapestry, Giltwood
1970s French Rustic Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1890s English Late Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1970s French Art Nouveau Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
Mid-19th Century American Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Tapestry, Rosewood
1970s American Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
19th Century French Provincial Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1980s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Aluminum
1880s French Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric
19th Century French Rococo Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1980s Chinese Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1970s Mexican Organic Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Rattan, Hardwood
Late 19th Century Chinese Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Soapstone
19th Century Belgian Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Hardwood, Walnut
19th Century French Chinoiserie Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas, Silk, Wood, Giltwood
1980s European Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Rattan
Late 20th Century Screens and Room Dividers
Plexiglass, Wood
1980s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Plastic
19th Century Gothic Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Iron
Late 20th Century Neoclassical Revival Screens and Room Dividers
Mirror, Hardwood
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.