Pencil Reed Screen

You are likely to find exactly the pencil reed screen you’re looking for on 1stDibs, as there is a broad range for sale. In our selection of items, you can find contemporary examples as well as a Pop Art version. Finding the perfect pencil reed screen may mean sifting through those created during different time periods — you can find an early version that dates to the 20th Century and a newer variation that were made as recently as the 20th Century. If you’re looking to add a pencil reed screen to create new energy in an otherwise neutral space in your home, you can find a work on 1stDibs that features elements of beige, brown, gray, purple and more. There have been many interesting pencil reed screen examples over the years, but those made by Robert Morris, Andy Warhol, Gerald Laing, Rene Ricard and Harry Shoulberg are often thought to be among the most thought-provoking. Artworks like these of any era or style can make for thoughtful decor in any space, but a selection from our variety of those made in screen print, acrylic paint and crayon can add an especially memorable touch.

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.