Articles on Decorating

The earliest surviving folding screens are Chinese. Existing Chinese screens, some of which are paper, date from the eighth century AD, although literary references date as far back as the Zhou dynasty (fourth to third century BC), and depictions of screens occur in Han dynasty tombs (200 BC-200 AD). However, it was in Japan that the screen form evolved into its most celebrated variations.

• Byobu: folding screen; translates roughly as 'protection from the wind'
  (Also referred to in English as 'beoube' or in French as 'paravent')
• Tsuitate: single panel entrance screen
• Fusuma: sliding door
• Shoji: the modern term for translucent paper doors or windows
• Tobusuma: wood sliding screen
• Sugido: cedar board

HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY

Chinese folding screens, which served originally as partitions painted with serious works, were not intended to be moved around frequently. They were often heavy wooden structures hinged with cloth or leather thongs pulled through holes near the edges of the panels. The frame was prominent, and the image development was frequently vertical and confined to the individual panels, creating a pleasing pattern.

Japanese folding screens, on the other hand, served many purposes, being used for tea ceremonies, as backgrounds for concerts or dances, as enclosures for Buddhist rites, and in outdoor processions. The type of folding varied according to its function. For instance, small two-fold screens were used for tea ceremonies, while large, gold-leaf screens with up to eight folds served as backdrops for dancing. An emphasis on mobility required a structure that would be lightweight and flexible. A lightweight but strong core was produced with a lattice of a stable wood covered with many layers of paper applied in a specific sequence, in the manner of a karibari.

Flexibility was achieved by an ingenious system of strong paper hinges integrated in the panel construction, which allowed reversible folding patterns. The paper hinges brought the panels closer together, eliminating the need for intrusive frames separating panels and allowing a horizontal orientation of the picture plane which offered, through manipulation into different configurations, innovative approaches to the physical, psychological and narra­tive spatial relationships of the panels.

It was during the zenith of screen development in the East that Western traders, who had arrived in Malacca in 1543 from Portugal, became acquainted with the beauty and utility of screens, taking a special interest in the folding variety. Europeans adapted the screen form to their own needs. For example, folding screens were considered by Jesuit missionaries to be an ideal format for teaching western geography, customs and religious beliefs. However, this first encounter with Japanese screens had little direct effect on western art as such, since trade was severely reduced by a ban imposed in the mid-1600s.

A second major attempt to increase trade between east and west, the American government-sponsored visit by Commodore Perry in 1853, resulted in more long-lasting and significant influence of the Japanese screen on the west. The importation of oriental screens, both Japanese and Chinese, to major European cities (they were displayed at the 1867 International Exhibi­tion for Industry and Art in Paris) seems to have catalyzed the adaptation of the concept by Westerners. Numerous major European artists collected screens, and many others were so inspired by the form as to emulate it. The introduction of screens to Euro­peans was particularly welltimed, as it corresponded to a period of revived interest in decorative arts incorporated into interior architectural designs.

Eventually, western screens became a feature in any well-appointed setting. The demand was so great that it often had to be met by furniture makers and other 'amateurs', eventually encouraging home-made adaptations, tailored to the owner's tastes.

The core structure of western paper screens is quite different form oriental folding screens, and may be traced to the history of wallpaper. Eighteenth­century European wallpaper was not attached directly to the wall but rather, after being strengthened with a backing of canvas or linen, stretched and hung on a frame. By the end of the century, wallpaper hanging and screen making had become interrelated. (This is true, of course, only for western screens made of paper through the nineteenth century. Western screens made of other materials, or made in this century, have a wide range of structures.)

By the nineteenth century the popularity of screens led to the proliferation of homemade folding screens. This trend may have originated from the earlier use of firescreens, both the four-legged “cheval” screen and the adjustable tripod pole screen with swivel head, to show off ladies' handiworks. Many western screens, especially homemade versions, appear to have more in common with Chinese screens, in their use of framing, vertical compositions and individual panels, than with the sophisticated paper-hinged Japanese screens.

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excerpted from:

THE HISTORY, TECHNOLOGY, AND CARE OF FOLDING SCREENS:
CASE STUDIES OF THE CONSERVATION TREATMENT OF WESTERN AND ORIENTAL SCREENS

By Dianne Lee van der Reyden

USED WITH PERMISSION.