Exciting Early 19th Century Gold Leaf Four-Panel Screen Crane Birds

Early 19th century French six-panel painted screen. Beautifully hand painted.

This exquisite circa 1850 English four-panel folding screen is a fine example of 19th-century craftsmanship and artistry. Folding screens, originally popularized in ancient China for displaying fine art, became highly sought-after in Europe for their functionality and decorative appeal. Crafted from durable mahogany wood, the frame features clean lines complemented by hand-carved spindles at the top, a hallmark of the era's design aesthetic. Square mirrors beneath the spindles add both practicality, allowing for dressing or spatial enhancement, and elegance. The true highlight of this screen lies in its hand-painted oil canvases, inspired by the style of renowned wildlife artist John James Audubon. Each panel showcases a different avian scene with remarkable attention to detail. The first panel depicts herons in a serene riverbed setting, their long legs and intricate feathers rendered with lifelike precision. The second panel features a pair of flamingos wading in a tropical landscape, their pale pink hues contrasting beautifully against muted grays and greens. The third panel captures egrets surrounded by cattails and grasses, their graceful forms echoing the natural curves of their surroundings. Above these larger panels, smaller square panels depict eastern bluebirds...

A lovely 19th Century French giltwood folding screen painted in the Chinoiserie style and backed in silk.

A striking display of artistry, this Chinese lacquered folding screen showcases a mesmerizing composition of red-crowned cranes in flight against a golden backdrop. The four-panel construction features a dynamic arrangement of cranes, their detailed plumage accentuated by subtly raised lacquer outlines, lending a dimensional quality to the artwork. The luminous gold ground, possibly applied with gold leaf or gilded foil, creates a radiant contrast to the deep black lacquer frame. Delicate hand-painted floral motifs soften the edges, introducing a refined decorative element. On the reverse, an equally elegant painted landscape unfolds, featuring songbirds perched among flowering branches and lotus blossoms. This dual-sided design enhances versatility, allowing the screen to function as both a decorative statement piece and a functional room divider. Whether placed as a dramatic backdrop in a dining room, used as an ornate headboard...