Screens and Room Dividers
1980s Unknown Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1970s European Organic Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Steel, Cut Steel
2010s Guatemalan Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Mahogany
1970s Unknown Rustic Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Paint
2010s Mexican Post-Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Steel
1950s Brutalist Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Soapstone
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Teak
1920s Victorian Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Mid-20th Century Organic Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Wicker, Wood
1950s American Other Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
20th Century Hollywood Regency Screens and Room Dividers
Mirror, Giltwood
19th Century Moorish Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Upholstery, Teak
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Fiberglass
1920s Chinese Chinese Export Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
Late 19th Century English Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Glass, Boxwood, Ebony, Mahogany, Satinwood, Walnut, Wood
2010s French Screens and Room Dividers
Metal, Stainless Steel
Mid-18th Century German Rococo Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas
20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Metal
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Teak
1930s American Art Deco Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Silver Leaf
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Leather, Hardwood
19th Century French Baroque Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Giltwood
Early 20th Century Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Paper
1970s Czech Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
20th Century English Victorian Screens and Room Dividers
Upholstery, Hardwood
Late 19th Century Chinese Ming Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Hardwood, Paint
1970s European Organic Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Cut Steel
Mid-20th Century Indonesian Other Screens and Room Dividers
Teak
19th Century Japanese Edo Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass, Gold Leaf
Early 2000s Asian Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Ash, Straw, Cane
20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
2010s Danish Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Bronze
1920s Italian Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
19th Century British Chinese Chippendale Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Gold Leaf
2010s Ethiopian Folk Art Screens and Room Dividers
Aluminum
Early 20th Century French Screens and Room Dividers
Mirror
1960s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Pine
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Teak
Mid-20th Century Japanese Showa Screens and Room Dividers
Gold Leaf
1970s Italian Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Plywood
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
Mid-20th Century Chinese Screens and Room Dividers
Gold Leaf
19th Century Chinese Qing Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Arts and Crafts Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
1940s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
21st Century and Contemporary French Screens and Room Dividers
Steel
1920s Chinese Chinese Export Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Soapstone
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Mahogany
Early 20th Century English Arts and Crafts Screens and Room Dividers
Copper
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Screens and Room Dividers
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary North American Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Paper
Mid-20th Century Japanese Victorian Screens and Room Dividers
Soapstone
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Minimalist Screens and Room Dividers
Fabric
Early 19th Century English Regency Antique Screens and Room Dividers
Palisander
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.