Anyone Translate This

I bought two of these two years ago because of the impeccably precise carvings on them, but, also, they were just too lovely to leave in the dirt at the car boot sale. I use one at work in the castle and the other one at home - both for keeping pens, pencils and paintbrushes to hand when I work. There is something as I said, lovely, about them; the feel of softness, the intricacies of the precise writing and images carved. I think it must have taken great time to create them for all of the work is indeed fine handwork.

I wondered where they originated and whether someone out there in Asia could offer a suggested origin and a translation for me. I hope that this kind of work continues somewhere. We have nothing like it here in Britain.