The dolphin has been venerated since ancient times, with representations appearing on everything from antique coins, to Roman wall paintings - and even the furniture and pottery made by the Greeks and Romans. Naturally enough at a later date, the dolphin became a popular theme in ceramics, and the Wedgwood factory has utilised the form as a 'support' for tripod lamps, pastille burners and later vases, as well as the well-known Dolphin Candlesticks. Josiah Wedgwood I is usually attributed with the modelling of the dolphin candlestick forms.

Wedgwood has produced dolphin candlesticks in many ceramic bodies including Queen's Ware (cream coloured earthenware); Black Basalt; Jasper; Rosso Antico and Majolica. The plinth or rectangular base on which the dolphin form rests features a shell motif - Conchology, or shell collecting was a hobby of the founder Josiah Wedgwood I (1730-95). Not only did this interest manifest itself in the various shell shapes produced in earthenware and other bodies, but also shell motifs were often adopted as ornamentation on ornamental items of Jasper.