The form of this candlestick is that of a Nuremberg prototype of the late 16th century. It is probable that the candlestick was imported into Venice undecorated, and the decoration was added by Saracenic craftsmen resident in the city. During this period Venice traded and fought extensively with the Ottoman and Arab empires that bordered the Mediterranean basin. Venetian merchants brought Near Eastern craftsmen and goods to the city and these had an immediate influence on the indigenous population.

The Venetian Muslim community produced many brass vessels, some signed in Arabic by their makers, almost always engraved and inlaid with silver wire – a technique known as ‘damascene’. In contrast to northern European brassware, this decoration was applied extensively over the entire surface of an object.

Also influential was the arabesque pattern, based on a stylised plant with winding stem. By the middle of the 16th century, the arabesque as a form of ornament had spread from Italy and had been adopted by metalworkers all over Europe. It continued to inform the development of European ornamental design until the decline of the Rococo in the late 18th century.