Rare Regency Black-Japanned Five-Panel Screen, c. 1810

Rare Regency Double-Sided Black-Japanned Five-Panel Screen
English, circa 1810

H 67.25 in W 140 in
Each panel W 27.75 in

Decorated on both sides, this unusually large screen reflects the enduring fascination with Chinese decorative arts during the Regency period. One side is painted with a continuous chinoiserie landscape populated by figures, pavilions, bridges, boats, and birds arranged across a deep black-japanned ground. The composition extends uninterrupted across all five panels.

The reverse is decorated with flowering branches, birds, insects, and botanical motifs painted in gilt and polychrome against the same black-japanned ground. Conceived as a distinct decorative scheme rather than a secondary treatment, the design recalls the birds-and-flowers decoration associated with eighteenth-century Chinese export wallpapers imported into England during the period.

The engraved brass hinges reflect the Regency enthusiasm for Chinese-inspired ornament and materials. Similar engraved metal mounts and escutcheons appear on Anglo-Chinese and chinoiserie-decorated case furniture of the period, inspired by the metal fittings found on Chinese export furniture.

With an overall width of approximately 140 inches, the screen possesses a scale rarely encountered in surviving examples. As the panels are folded and viewed from different angles, the composition continually changes, revealing new relationships between landscape, architecture, and figure groups.