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

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

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 expansive use of black-japanning lends the composition an unusual sense of scale and refinement.

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.

Particularly noteworthy are the engraved brass hinges, whose form and decoration reflect the Regency enthusiasm for Chinese-inspired ornament and materials. Together with the finely painted borders and expansive black-japanned ground, they contribute to the screen’s strong architectural presence.

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 decorative ornament.