Screens and Room Dividers
1820s French Empire Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass, Steel
2010s Italian Other Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Early 19th Century French Empire Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1970s European Other Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Plywood, Paint
Mid-19th Century Portuguese Other Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Polish Other Screens and Room Dividers
Stainless Steel
Early 19th Century Empire Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas, Wood
19th Century Italian Other Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Poplar
Mid-20th Century French Other Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze, Brass
Mid-20th Century Indonesian Other Screens and Room Dividers
Teak
2010s French Other Screens and Room Dividers
Other, Gold Leaf
1950s American Other Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
2010s Italian Other Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Mid-20th Century Other Screens and Room Dividers
Jade
2010s Italian Other Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Late 20th Century Other Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Late 19th Century French Empire Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
2010s Italian Other Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
2010s Italian Other Screens and Room Dividers
Leather, Wood
2010s Italian Other Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1940s Italian Other Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Other Screens and Room Dividers
Brass, Other
2010s Italian Other Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
19th Century Tibetan Other Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Mid-20th Century Balinese Other Screens and Room Dividers
Hardwood
2010s French Other Screens and Room Dividers
Oak
19th Century French Empire Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
Early 19th Century Italian Empire Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze, Ormolu
Early 19th Century French Empire Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
Late 18th Century French Empire Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Paper
Early 20th Century Italian Other Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo, Rattan
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.