Some objects divide a room..... Others create another world within it.
Across four hand-batiked panels unfolds an imagined landscape of riders, wildflower meadows and impossibly slender trees, all set beneath an enormous blue sky and a solitary moon. It feels less like a depiction of a real place than the opening scene of a forgotten folktale. The longer you spend with it, the more it reveals itself; distant figures emerge from the grasses, winding paths drift towards the horizon, and every fold offers a slightly different composition.
Executed using a traditional wax-resist batik technique, the surface carries the delicate network of craquelure that makes the process so distinctive. Colours bleed softly into one another, giving the landscape a dreamlike quality that would be difficult to achieve with paint alone. Rather than hiding its handmade nature, the technique celebrates it.
Likely dating from the middle of the twentieth century, the screen sits comfortably within the post-war revival of studio craft, when artists across Europe and North America embraced traditional textile techniques to create decorative objects for modern interiors. Its lyrical landscape and restrained palette carry echoes of Scandinavian illustration and design from the period, although its exact origins remain something of a mystery.
That uncertainty only adds to its appeal. It's the sort of object collected not because it belongs to a particular movement, but because it quietly transforms a space. Used as a room divider, a backdrop, or simply as a monumental piece of decorative art, it introduces warmth, narrative and just enough escapism to change the mood of a room.
Somewhere between painting, textile and furniture, it resists easy classification. Which is precisely why I like it.
Dimensions
Height: 168 cm
Width (fully extended): 150 cm
Condition
Very good vintage condition with light age-related wear consistent with its age. The batik retains wonderfully rich colour throughout, while the characteristic crackled surface forms part of the original wax-resist process and contributes to its character.
Delivery
This piece requires specialist courier delivery. We work with trusted carriers experienced in handling vintage and design objects. Delivery is charged at cost and depends on your location — we'll be in touch to confirm a tailored quote once you place your order. If you'd like an estimate beforehand, just drop us a line.
