The daughter of prosperous Swiss immigrants, Marie Zimmermann was born in Brooklyn and studied art at the Art Students League and Pratt Institute. Although she was often influenced by Asian and ancient Egyptian art, which she no doubt saw on visits to the Brooklyn Museum, these candlesticks illustrate an affinity with the restrained Anglo-American interpretation of the Art Nouveau and the Arts and Crafts Movement. Zimmermann and Elizabeth Copeland, the maker of the nearby box, were among the few women metalsmiths to achieve national fame.