Folding Screens from the ARARIO Collection

A byeongpung stands in a room to block draughts, to screen something from view, or as decoration. Typically, rectangular wooden frames are covered with paper, a painting, embroidery or calligraphy is mounted on them, and the frames are joined so that they fold and unfold; screens have from two to twelve panels, always an even number. A two-panel screen is called a garigae, and one placed by the pillow a meoribyeongpung or chimbyeong. Screens are also traditionally used in ancestral rites. Because the surface is divided into panels, one image can spread across the whole screen, or each panel can hold its own scene and symbols; some screens rely on shades of ink, others on colour. In the Joseon dynasty the Irworobongdo, a screen painted with the sun, the moon and five peaks, stood behind the king's throne; chaekgeori, showing books on shelves, is another kind of screen. Folding Screens from the ARARIO Collection at

Count the panels, then look at the folds between them: does the picture carry on across, or change to another one there?

• Ink painting 수묵→Paintings on screens also work in shades of ink.
• Korean colour painting 채색화→Screens such as the Irworobongdo are painted in brilliant colours.