Folding Screen Depicting Mediterranean Town. Red roofs and blue church tops suggest it is likely somewhere in Italy, Greece, France, or Spain. 

Condition: Commensurate with use. 

Open Size: 64 1/4 x 49 x 1 in. 

Shipping Size: 16 12 x 49 x 3 3/4 in.

#3501 . 

A folding screen, also known as pingfeng, is a type of free-standing furniture consisting of several frames or panels, which are often connected by hinges or by other means. They have practical and decorative uses, and can be made in a variety of designs with different kinds of materials. Folding screens originated from Ancient China, eventually spreading to the rest of East Asia and becoming popular amongst Europeans and their colonies. Some of the earliest known screens date back to China during the Eastern Zhou period (771-256 BC). These were initially one-panel pieces in contrast to folding screens, and served specifically to direct the flow of rooms and halls in large buildings. Folding screens were invented during the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD). Depictions of those folding screens have been found in Han-era tombs, such as one in Zhucheng, Shandong Province. Screens were often decorated with beautiful art, with major themes included mythology, scenes of palace life, and nature. They became a common feature in Chinese literature, as a curious young woman in love could sneak a peek at the object of her affection from behind one, or a loyal warrior could overhear plotting against his Emperor from behind one. Folding screens were originally made from wooden panels and painted on lacquered surfaces, with paper or silk eventually becoming popular too. They became rapidly popular during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), as they became ideal ornaments for many painters to display their paintings and calligraphy on. Many artists painted on paper or silk and applied it onto the folding screen, allowing multiples to be made. Landscape paintings on folding screens reached its height during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), and the lacquer techniques for the Coromandel screens, known as kuancai (“incised colors”), emerged during the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and was applied to folding screens to create dark screens incised, painted, and inlaid with art of mother-of-pearl, ivory, or other materials. Both Korea and Japan began to see a rapid interest in folding screens around the time of the Tang Dynasty, and folding screens were first introduced in the late Middle Ages to Europe. In 1584 a Japanese embassy on behalf of Oda Nobunaga gifted the Azuchi Screens to Pope Gregory XIII, who displayed them in the Vatican. In the 17th and 18th Centuries so many folding screens were imported from China to Europe (and especially to France) that they became common in homes, shops, restaurants, and theaters, both for changing actors and as set pieces onstage. The French fashion designer Coco Chanel was an avid collector of Chinese folding screens and is believed to have owned 32 folding screens, of which eight were housed in her apartment at 31 rue Cambon, Paris. They can now be found in many interior designs throughout the world, either part of a complete room set or as the focal point that draws a room together. At first simply practical and used to bestow a sense of privacy to Chinese homes, they are now a common piece of artwork in their own right found around the world.

Commensurate with use.