The German Jewish decorative artist Friedrich Adler (1878-1942) embraced a number of modernist idioms including Jugendstil the German offshoot of Art Nouveau, with its emphasis on fluid contours based on organic forms as well as the more geometric Vienna Secession style. Adler's work eventually adopted a Gothic look featuring open tracery and luxurious materials such as ivory and precious stones. At the 1914 Deutsche Werkbund exhibition in Cologne, which showcased seminal architectural designs by Walter Gropius and Adolf Meyer, Adler presented his vision for an entire synagogue, including its ceremonial objects. After World War I, he shifted from metalwork to fabric design and ceramics, but with the ascent of Hitler in 1933 the artist was forced to turn to private instruction of primarily Jewish students. In 1942, Adler was deported to Auschwitz where he was murdered.

Art Nouveau's influence on Adlers work is exemplified by this pair of candelabra, which was designed around 1900 when he was working in Nuremberg. Highly regarded in his time both as an artist and a teacher, Adler was invited to lead the prestigious master class in arts and crafts at the city's Bavarian Trade Institute from 1910 to1913.