Chinese Room Screens - General

Chinese screens serve a variety of purposes. While many are solely for decoration, some Chinese screens are also used in order to section up an open space, or even to create a new room altogether. Elegant in construction, and often decorated with beautifully painted or otherwise rendered scenes and patterns, a Chinese room screen also serves as a beautiful visual focal point for any room.

One-paneled screens have existed since antiquity. They have been used historically since the Eastern Zhou period, between 771 to 256 B.C., with the invention of the folding screen occurring in the Han dynasty. These screens can be made entirely of lacquered wood, or with wooden frames with silk or paper mounted on. The technique of using lacquered wood to create standing screens is called “coromandel." Coromandel screens are first lacquered then painted upon or decorated with inlays, stones, or other means.

Quick Facts

• The Tang dynasty yielded a rising popularity of folding screens. During this time, it was not uncommon for painters and calligraphers to be commissioned to decorate a silk or paper folding screen; it became the ideal way of displaying artwork
• Coco Chanel was known for having loved and collected Chinese folding screens. She was particularly drawn to coromandel screens
• Though screens are mostly used for decorative purposes now, the original practical use of screens was to block drafts in a home