Rare and Spectacular 18th Century Folding Screen w/ Hand-Painted Paper Panels - 55" x 141¾"

A spectacular and highly atmospheric 18th century six-panel folding screen decorated on one side with painted scenic paper panels and on the reverse with richly patterned domino paper. Monumental in scale and deeply evocative, the screen retains the poetic irregularities and faded beauty that only centuries of use can create. The principal side is decorated with a succession of oriental-inspired landscapes, garden pavilions, flowering trees, and architectural follies unfolding across the six leaves. The lower sections are richly filled with stylized floral and foliate motifs that anchor the compositions and add remarkable decorative density.

The reverse is covered in richly patterned domino paper, a traditional woodblock-printed and hand-colored paper widely used in the 18th century for both decorative objects and interiors. Here, the panels display an extraordinary succession of exotic figures, flowering vases, birds, and fantastical foliage arranged in rhythmic vertical compositions inspired by the taste for the Orient that swept through Europe in the period. The remarkable richness and vibrancy of the printed decoration give the reverse every bit as much visual impact as the principal painted side, allowing the screen to be appreciated equally from both directions.

This extraordinary piece creates architecture within a room. Whether used to soften a wall, divide a space, frame a bed, or form a backdrop behind a console, it brings scale, depth, and an unmistakably collected atmosphere to an interior. The richly painted side introduces romance and theatricality, while the domino paper reverse offers a more rhythmic decorative presence, allowing the mood of the room to shift depending on its orientation.