A subversion of the historic tradition of collecting a trousseau to supplement a young woman’s ‘attributes’. Wealthy fathers were known to employ Catholic nuns to stitch their daughters’ dowries; before suitors arrived, the armoire in the reception room was opened to display a woman’s skill with the needle as proof of her fitness to run an efficient household.

De Villiers turns that display of needlework into an uneasy reliquary — bound and pierced lace and linen on a wooden chest — objecting to the commodification of women through their handwork.