Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 27. (Budapest, 2009)

Györgyi FAJCSÁK - Andrea FÜZES: Chinese Embroidered Screen from the Turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries

2. Chinese scholar at his desk in his study, in front of a screen. Woodcut illustration from the reprint of the 1498 edition of the novel The Western Room. (Ferenc Hopp Museum of Eastern Asiatic Arts) 3. Woman's apartment with low couch and behind it screen with landscape. Woodblock print illustration from the reprint of the 1498 edition of the novel The Western Room. (Ferenc Hopp Museum of Eastern Asiatic Arts) in the 16

t

h century, screens came to Europe in the form of Japanese paper or silk elements (fitsuma

: "sliding door" and byöbw. "screen"). They became ever more widespread in the 17

t

h and 18

t

h centuries, when lacquer-painted multiple-leaf screens with inlaid precious stones and shells came from Japan and China as luxury export wares (fig. 1). The popularity of this kind of furniture in Europe spread through the fashion for lacquer cabinets

3 and screens adorning the rooms of Baroque-Rococo aristocratic palaces and through the work of French cabinet-makers. Screens in Europe were highly varied in form and function. One of their most common functions was to protect the fireplace from draughts, or to protect against direct heat or strong light. There were single and multiple panel versions: a wooden (rarely metal) frame was covered with fabric or leather and decorated with applique panels. The cloth mounted on the frame was the 166