The creation of folding screens is not a traditional Indian craft practice, but the result of foreign influence. The first Indian screens were brought by the Mughals in the sixteenth century and were made of perforated stone, operating as part of a building's overall architecture.

This screen was created in 1922, towards the end of the British Raj. The material impact of European culture on craftsmanship within <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />India during this period was profound, as British military rulers and merchants provided lucrative new markets while the courts of Mughal and Rajput princes were influenced by European taste.

This screen was created by the Bombay Pioneer workshops of the 92nd (Prince of Wales Own) Punjabis infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It displays a decorative use of curves associated with European furniture of this period along with Scottish thistle, English rose and Irish shamrock motifs. While these are singled out for individual attention, they do not dominate the screen. Traditional Indian floral imagery such as the lotus and iris and decorative schemes of foliage and fruit also play an important role, establishing the work's equally intricate connection to established Indian carving traditions.

Ruth McDougall, 2010.