Screens and Room Dividers
2010s Italian Other Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
2010s Italian Other Screens and Room Dividers
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Polish Other Screens and Room Dividers
Stainless Steel
Mid-20th Century Indonesian Other Screens and Room Dividers
Teak
19th Century Italian Other Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Poplar
2010s Italian Other Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Mid-20th Century French Other Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze, Brass
2010s Italian Other Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1940s Italian Other Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1950s American Other Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Mid-20th Century Other Screens and Room Dividers
Jade
2010s Italian Other Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
2010s Italian Other Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
2010s Italian Other Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Other Screens and Room Dividers
Brass, Other
2010s French Other Screens and Room Dividers
Oak
Late 20th Century Other Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Mid-20th Century Balinese Other Screens and Room Dividers
Hardwood
19th Century Tibetan Other Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Mid-19th Century Portuguese Other Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
2010s French Other Screens and Room Dividers
Other, Gold Leaf
Early 20th Century Italian Other Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo, Rattan
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Walnut
2010s American Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Hardwood
1990s Art Deco Screens and Room Dividers
Lacquer
19th Century Japanese Antique Screens and Room Dividers
1960s Czech Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Ash
18th Century and Earlier British Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Early 19th Century English Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Tapestry, Rosewood
1810s French Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Silk, Mahogany
Late 20th Century Neoclassical Revival Screens and Room Dividers
Mirror, Hardwood
Mid-18th Century German Primitive Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Chestnut
Mid-20th Century Italian Other Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Early 19th Century Italian Other Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas
Late 18th Century English Other Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas, Wood
1930s Unknown Other Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1950s Italian Other Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Silver, Silver Plate
19th Century Spanish Other Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Iron, Gold Leaf
20th Century Spanish Other Screens and Room Dividers
Iron
1930s British Other Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric
19th Century Chinese Other Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Early 20th Century Italian Other Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo, Rattan
1960s Chinese Other Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo
1920s Chinese Other Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
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.