Historical significance: The light-coloured clay of Saint-Porchaire produced a uniquely pale and desirable ceramic. However, the chemical composition of the clay rendered it extremely vulnerable during firing, which resulted in the need for small-scale decoration. Such labour-intensive and exquisite work was available only to the most wealthy patrons. Although a certain amount of mystery surrounds the origin of these pieces, it is thought they would have had a market in only the most noble and courtly circles; an association confirmed by the armorial device of Henri II on this candlestick.

This elaborate candlestick is one of about seventy surviving pieces in a mannerist style characteristic of French court fashion around 1550. The way in which they combine different components in several tiers is more typical of contemporaneous metalwork and architectural design than of pottery.

By 1842 these pieces were described as "faïence de Henri II" because the emblems of the French king and his wife, Catherine de' Medici, together with those, as was then thought, of his mistress Diane de Poitiers, appear on more than one example. Because of its presumed royal connection, its style, its technical complexity, and its rarity, Saint-Porchaire ware became the type of ceramic most sought after by collectors, along with so-called Medici porcelain.