Four-Panel Screen (paravent)

From the Getty Museum record

In the 1700s folding screens of this size, known as *paravents*, were used mainly in salons or dining rooms to protect the occupants from drafts. This screen has four panels made after two repeating designs. Two panels depict brown-and-cream rabbits in front of a trellis of peach trees, with monkeys and birds on top. The other two panels contain three waterfowl at the base; above, a blue and yellow macaw clings to a trellis of roses and squawks at an African crowned crane. The borders of these scenes imitate the shape of gilt wood *boiseries* (wood paneling) that would have covered the walls of rooms where they were used. The wool panels were knotted like a carpet and attached to a wood frame with rows of brass tacks.