Featured Old cover - glass and cardboard

An oddity in the bottom of a box of stuff. Another one of my mother's random things. The illustrations look Chinese and the word "Ying" appears. Any idea what this would have covered? The box and the sides of the cover are missing - at least I'm assuming it was a box cover. The glass part is 3" x 4".

 

Maybe the lid of a gift box for Chinese embroidered handkerchiefs?

 

I don't think handkerchiefs. My mother had many and they were usually in larger, thin boxes. 3"x4" is tiny. Plus the glass. Back in the 40s & 50s when she and my Dad had their second hand store, you could still buy up house lots when someone passed away or moved relatively cheaply and make money. Any detritus left over after my Dad sold the big pieces of furniture and china and glass, my mother would pick over like a magpie and keep all sorts of weird, but sometimes interesting, stuff.

 

I suspect a foodstuff, such as tea. I've seen similar now with plastic rather than glass.

 

Back in the 1960s we went to San Francisco China Town at least once each year as a treat.
There were many things that came in boxes with glass lids.
I'm sure you are familiar with boxes that hold chopsticks with glass lids as well as fans. As I'm writing this I'm picturing different little sets of dishes, like tea cups, soup spoons, even Japanese ink and brush sets.
I think those boxes were just a way to show the wares so people wouldn't open the boxes to look at the goods inside.

 

I suspect your mother kept this because it had sentimental value. I have seen a set of vintage Chinese picture puzzle blocks packed in a box sort of like this. Dimensions of your box would be about right & such a box would be used for storage & suffer the wear & tear of repeated opening & closing. But would they put glass in the lid of a children's toy? Maybe, we weren't always so mindful of child safety as we are now. But think puzzle pictures would be shown on sides. With the rose & pair of cranes, this feels romantic. The glass makes me think it was not meant to be disposable but to hold & display contents when not in use. That could be...?

 

Looks like a picture frame to me. The sides tilt forward to help it to stand. Looks like it is missing the wooden back side?

 

Oh, no. My mother kept anything and everything and sentiment wasn't part of it. She was a magpie. Never wore jewelry, but couldn't resist buying a box of scrap jewelry at a yardsale for $1. My parents always either had a second hand store or did flea markets so an astounding amount of 'stuff' went through our house. She had to live in a convent school for poor kids when she was little and survived the Depression, so nothing ever got thrown away. I really have to force myself not to follow in her footsteps. She used to save the styrofoam flats from meat from the supermarket, wash them off and cover them with tinfoil and use them for picnics in the summertime. Not sure she was saving money, but she thought she was.

 

Nope. No idea.