Screens and Room Dividers
Early 20th Century Victorian Screens and Room Dividers
Tapestry, Mahogany
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas, Wood
Mid-20th Century Czech Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Bentwood, Plywood
1950s Chinese Chinoiserie Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Fir
2010s Italian Screens and Room Dividers
Murano Glass, Wood
Mid-20th Century Indonesian Other Screens and Room Dividers
Teak
Early 20th Century French Art Deco Screens and Room Dividers
Wrought Iron
Mid-20th Century Czech Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Bentwood, Plywood
1970s Philippine Post-Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo, Rattan
Mid-20th Century Art Deco Screens and Room Dividers
Glass, Mirror, Giltwood
17th Century Spanish Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
20th Century Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Paper
Mid-20th Century Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Early 20th Century Indian Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
18th Century Japanese Edo Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Silk, Paint
1980s French Post-Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
2010s Indonesian Organic Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Rosewood, Reclaimed Wood
Mid-20th Century Czech Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Bentwood, Plywood
1940s Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
Mid-20th Century Czech Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Bentwood, Plywood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Walnut
1890s French Art Nouveau Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Silk, Glass
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Wrought Iron
Mid-20th Century Hong Kong Chinese Export Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
20th Century French Art Deco Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
19th Century Rococo Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1940s Hollywood Regency Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
2010s French Screens and Room Dividers
Oak
Mid-20th Century French Other Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Screens and Room Dividers
Copper
Early 2000s Japanese Screens and Room Dividers
Paper
20th Century American Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Paint
1920s Chinese Chinoiserie Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Lacquer
Early 1900s German Late Victorian Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric, Pine
1940s Adam Style Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Iron
1970s American Neoclassical Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Mid-20th Century Japanese Showa Screens and Room Dividers
Gold Leaf
Mid-19th Century English William IV Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Mahogany
Late 20th Century Screens and Room Dividers
Hardwood, Paint
Late 20th Century European Bohemian Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo, Rattan
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Paint
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
2010s Guatemalan Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Mahogany
1990s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Steel, Aluminum
1970s North American Post-Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Iron
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Aluminum
19th Century English Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Early 19th Century French Empire Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
20th Century French Louis XVI Screens and Room Dividers
Mirror
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Bamboo, Wicker
1980s Unknown Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
2010s British Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Stainless Steel
1890s Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1930s French Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
2010s Scandinavian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas, Oak
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.