Chinese Seven Panel Screen Set with Open Lattice

Seven panels, one idea, and no sign anyone got bored.

This seven panel screen set with open lattice is elm wood, from China, 20th century. Open latticework has long been a signature of Chinese interiors, used to divide rooms and doorways while letting air and daylight move through. Each panel repeats the same composition. A geometric lattice of interlocking squares and rectangles fills the upper third, set between small recessed panels. Below that, a larger plain panel shows the honey-brown grain of the wood, with soft arched corners. Ninety-seven inches high, or just over eight feet.

The light does the rest of the work.