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THE FOLDING SCREEN
Inspired by splendidly painted and lacquered examples imported from the Orient, European craftsmen set about
making folding screens with distinctly Western designs.
Screens were used in medieval times to keep cut draughts, separate passageways from halls or large rooms or mask unsightly areas. They were usually fixed and made of decoratively carved wood.
 Then, in the late 16th century, Chinese and Japanese
folding screens began to appear in Europe. Exquisitely painted or lacquered, they were very desirable objects, particularly when the mania for all things oriental was at its height. They also inspired European craftsmen to try their hand at something new.
The new-style folding screens were essentially portable, so weren't made of solid wood.
Gilded walnut or poplar, even bronze, was used instead to frame panels of needlework,
painted canvas, leather, lacquer or other decorative materials. Such sumptuous screens contrasted with more humble, but practical creations made entirely of wicker.
PRACTICAL VIRTUES
Folding screens went out of favour in the late 18th century - they didn't quite seem to go with the neo-classical style - but were too useful to abandon entirely. It was their practical virtues that made screens a hit with the Victorians, who used them to make their draughty houses more cosy, to provide privacy in their
dressing rooms and attractive backdrops in their reception rooms, and to create nooks and cubby-holes in large rooms.
 As the 19th century went on, more and more different shapes of screen became available,
some framed in hardwood but the majority in gilt or ebonized softwoods. Many of the tops were squared off as they always were in oriental screens, but others were given round or pointed arches or pediments. Sometimes the panels extended up into the arch, and sometimes they were filled with decorative mouldings or with glass.
Screens were sold ready-decorated with paint or needlework designs, but many people
in the 19th century preferred to decorate their own with collages of scrap, the
colourful printed pictures and motifs sold for use in scrapbooks, creating one-off, all-over
designs which were usually covered with varnish.
Though still undeniably decorative pieces, screens lost much of their usefulness as the 20th century went on and rooms tended to be smaller and better insulated against draughts. They are rarely made today.
COLLECTOR'S NOTES
A primary consideration in buying folding screens is being able to house them. Although they
can be stood fairly flat against a wall, for their full effect to be appreciated they need to be
free-standing, and they can take up a surprisingly large amount of room.
Though oriental screens can have as many as ten or twelve leaves, it's unusual to find European ones with more than three or four. Some
screens have an ingenious double hinge, so they can be folded in either direction. These
sometimes shear or jam, and iron ones may rust, so make sure that a screen folds both ways
freely at all the hinges before you buy at top prices. A little work and a lot of oil may free a
rusted or jammed hinge, but replacing a broken one is more tricky.
Usually, though, it's not the frame that's damaged, but the panels, and damaged panels will devalue a screen. Canvas and painted paper are particularly vulnerable, and can easily be torn, while the varnish on scrap screens often
browns and may chip or flake away.
Check carefully all over the panels for damage, which may have been literally
patched up. If the patch is an old one, and age has harmonized it with the screen, the problem isn't as great as with new repairs. Even so, a damaged screen can still be worth buying at the right price, particularly if it can be
positioned so the damage doesn't show.
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Folding Screens
