Vintage 1950s Chinese Reverse Painted Glass Zhaojun Trinket Box, Mirror Lid 2.6"

Step into pure, romantic mid-century glamour with this beautiful vintage 1950s Chinese export reverse-painted glass vanity trinket box. Masterfully crafted during the mid-20th century export boom, this elegant metal pocket box features a portrait of the legendary Wang Zhaojun—celebrated in folklore as one of the Four Great Beauties of Ancient China. It serves as a stunning conversation piece for a makeup vanity, a ring holder, or a premier addition to an antique Asian art collection.T
he loose, lift-off top lid showcases an incredible work of traditional Chinese craftsmanship: a reverse-painted glass portrait set against a brilliant, opaque turquoise-teal background. The legendary lady's features are delicately rendered with fine-line ink brushwork detailing her arched eyebrows, classic expression, and stylized royal hair ornamentation—including a blooming pink lotus, a blue plum blossom, and a golden phoenix hairpin. A red artist cartouche seal sits on the left.
Measuring a compact, pocket-friendly 2.6 inches long by 1.9 inches wide, flipping the lid over reveals a clean, flush-mounted oval glass vanity mirror built into the under-panel. The glass is safely secured inside a heavy, scalloped antique bronze-tone metal frame with continuous beaded rope detailing. The bottom container well is clean and ready to store rings, small earrings, daily pills, or precious keepsakes. It makes a heartwarming gift for cottagecore collectors, Asian antiquities dealers, or vintage vanity curators.
Product Specifications:
Artistic Subject: Wang Zhaojun (One of the Four Great Beauties of Ancient China)
Artistic Origin: Chinese Export / Mid-Century Asian Art
Design Silhouette: Small Seamless Oval Storage Case with Loose Lift-Off Lid
Interior Utility: Integrated Flush-Mounted Oval Glass Vanity Mirror
Material Composition: Hand-Painted Reverse Glass, Base Metal Alloy
Hardware Accents: Continuous Embossed Beaded Rope-Twist Border Frame
Length: Exactly 2.60 Inches
Width: Exactly 1.90 Inches
Primary Color Palette: Turquoise Blue, Jet Black, Chocolate Brown, Soft Pink, Powder Blue, Gold
Era: Mid-Century Modern / Post-War Hollywood Regency Vanity (Circa 1950s)
Condition Report:
Great vintage condition with excellent structural and graphic integrity. The metal container body remains robust and completely symmetrical, showing zero major crushing, flat spots, or heavy dents along the oval walls. The interior glass mirror is bright, clear, and perfectly intact with no clouding or silvering loss. The reverse-painted glass top is bright, glossy, and beautifully colored, with the turquoise pigment remaining opaque and deep. As an authentic vintage item with age-appropriate character, it shows light, expected shelf wear—including a natural aged dark tarnish patina to the metal surfaces and a few tiny, minor specks of superficial paint flaking near the upper right outer glass rim as pictured, which does not disrupt the central portrait illustration.