This large marble sculptural group, depicting Saint John the Baptist raised to heaven between two candle-bearing angels, was created by Girolamo Ticciati in 1732. Along with the two eagles of the Calimala guild and the relief of Herod’s Feast below, it formed part of the Baroque altar arrangement in the Baptistery. The altars of the Baptistery were renovated in the 18th century at the initiative of the Calimala Cloth Merchants’ Guild, which had been responsible for the building’s embellishments for centuries. The altar sculptures were removed in 1912. The complex decoration created by Ticciati, partially reconstructed here, was designed to glorify Saint John the Baptist, patron saint of Florence and of the Baptistery itself. Beneath the altar table the relief of Herod’s Feast depicts the final episode of John’s earthly life: the young Salome presents the king with the saint’s severed head, having ordered his execution. However, above the altar, John is shown ascending to eternal life, lifted upon the clouds to contemplate God. Jesus called John 'a burning and shining lamp,' and here he is depicted rising into heaven between two angels who once bore candles. These candles would have cast a flickering glow upon the marble figure of the saint. In its original setting, the faithful would have seen, directly above John, the great and ancient mosaic of Christ in Glory—creating a powerful visual alignment of the saint with the divine.