I shall see if my Chinese friend can shed some light on these and come back later this evening.
Ok, he seems to think they are boxes that can be opened and have ink blocks inside for Chinese caligraphy.
Water is placed on the block and a small tool is used to grind into a paste as ink.
If they are not boxes then probably just small murals depicting certain aspects of Chinese history in the form of old ink blocks.
The writing tells of Chinese history.
Not particularly old and are often used in showing appreciation as gifts.
