Folding screen

Folding screen on display at Musée Guimet, Paris

A folding screen is a type of free-standing furniture. It consists of several frames or panels, which are often connected by hinges or by other means. It can be made in a variety of designs and with different kinds of materials. Folding screens have many practical and decorative uses. It originated from ancient China, eventually spreading to the rest of East Asia, Europe, and other regions of the world.

History

A Chinese Coromandel screen is seen in the oil painting Chopin (1873) by Albert von Keller. Typically for this kind of folding screen, the front has a detailed scene, while the back usually has a simple floral theme.

Origin in China

Screens date back to China during the Eastern Zhou period (771-256 BCE). These were initially one-panel screens in contrast to folding screens. Folding screens were invented during the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE). Depictions of those folding screens have been found in Han-era tombs, such as one in Zhucheng, Shandong Province.

A folding screen was often decorated with beautiful art; major themes included mythology, scenes of palace life, and nature. It is often associated with intrigue and romance in Chinese literature, for example, a young lady in love could take a curious peek hidden from behind a folding screen. An example of such a thematic occurrence of the folding screen is in the classical novel Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin. The folding screen was a recurring element in Tang literature. The Tang poet Li He (790–816) wrote the "Song of the Screen" (屏風曲), describing a folding screen of a newly-wed couple. The folding screen surrounded the bed of the young couple, its twelve panels were adorned with butterflies alighted on China pink flowers (an allusion to lovers), and had silver hinges resembling glass coins.

Folding screens were originally made from wooden panels and painted on lacquered surfaces, eventually folding screens made from paper or silk became popular too. Even though folding screens were known to have been used since antiquity, it became rapidly popular during the Tang dynasty (618–907). During the Tang dynasty, folding screens were considered 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. There were two distinct artistic folding screens mentioned in historical literature of the era. One of it was known as the huaping (Chinese: 畫屏; literally: "painted folding screen") and the other was known as the shuping (Chinese: 書屏; literally: "calligraphed folding screen"). It was not uncommon for people to commission folding screens from artists, such as from Tang-era painter Cao Ba or Song-era painter Guo Xi. The landscape paintings on folding screens reached its height during the Song dynasty (960–1279). The lacquer techniques for the Coromandel screens, which is known as kuǎncǎi (款彩 "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.

Spread throughout East Asia

Korea

Folding screens became significant during the period of Unified Silla (668–935). Folding screens known as irworobongdo were important elements in the throne room of some Joseon kings, placed immediately behind the throne.

Japan

Main article: Byōbu

File:Tigres et dragons par Kanō Sanraku.jpg

Pair of screens with tigers and dragon by Kanō Sanraku, 17th century, each 1.78 x 3.56 metres.

Like many Japanese arts and crafts, folding screens originated in China. According to the 8th-century work Nihon Shoki, one of the earliest folding screens to reach Japan was during the reign of Emperor Temmu (r. 672-686), which were gifts from the Korean kingdom of Silla. By the 8th century, folding screens became well known in Japan through China during the Tang dynasty (618–907), which led Japanese craftsmen to start making their own, highly influenced by Chinese patterns. During the late Muromachi period, the Japanese began depicting everyday life on folding screen, which was a custom imported from China.

Spread to Europe

Chinese folding screen used at the Austrian imperial court, 18th century, the Imperial Furniture Collection

Folding screens were introduced in the late Middle Ages to Europe. In the 17th and 18th centuries, many folding screens were being imported from China to Europe. Especially the French had a certain admiration and desire for the Chinese folding screens, along with the rest of Europe, and they began importing large lacquered folding screens adorned with art. The famous 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. She once said:

I've loved Chinese screens since I was eighteen years old. I nearly fainted with joy when, entering a Chinese shop, I saw a Coromandel for the first time. Screens were the first thing I bought.

Uses

Although folding screens originated in China, they can now be found in many interior designs throughout the world. Some of the first uses of folding screens were rather practical. They were used to prevent draft in homes, as indicated by the two characters in their Chinese name: píng (屏 "screen; blocking") and feng (風 "breeze, wind"). They were also used to bestow a sense of privacy; in classical times, folding screens were often placed in rooms to be used as dressing screens for ladies. Folding screens can be set up to partition a large room and change the interior features of the space. Screens may be used as a false wall near the entrance from one room to another to create a desirable atmosphere by hiding certain features like doors to a kitchen. As many folding screens have fine artistic designs and art on them, they can fit well as decorative items in the interior design of a home.

See also

• Chinoiserie
• Hanging scroll
• Rood screen & triptych: panels in churches
• Coromandel screen