The Marble Chest Inspired by Palestinian Embroidery

As published in The New York TImes, March 7, 2025

The White Bridal Chest designed by sisters Nisreen Abu Dail and Nermeen Abu Dai for their niece, Shams.

Nisreen Abu Dail and Nermeen Abu Dail wanted to make something special for their young niece, Shams (“sun” in Arabic). As the founders of the 16-year-old design studio Naqsh Collective in Amman, Jordan, the sisters turned a retrospective eye to their own Palestinian heritage and translated the bold patterns of traditional embroidery into a marble bridal chest.

Nisreen, an architect in Amman, said the chest was inspired by a Palestinian wedding custom in which women assemble trousseaus from an early age. On the wedding day, “There is a tradition that the bride will sit on top of a chest that is filled with her precious wares,” she said.

Nermeen, a graphic designer who now lives in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, added, “Embroidery was a common language across all Palestinians in the diaspora and back at home in Jordan.”

The sisters recalled their aunts’ embroidering their own wedding garments, which sometimes took a year to complete, even with other women pitching in. The pair knew the craft, but not the meanings carried by the floral and animal motifs. So they learned them.

The White Bridal Chest for Shams is adorned with examples from their library of antique patterns. Inside the marble door, they carved a guide to the designs: cypress trees, plumed stitches known as “moon feathers” and beehives.

Unlike fabric, the sisters pointed out, the marble isn’t subject to decay. naqshcollective.com