Nikolas Engelbert Cetto used pieces of hair, fishbone, hay, and silver wire to support the intricate wax landscapes for which he was famous. This wax depicts the Martyrdom of St. Barbara, a princess of Nicomedia (modern Turkey) who was beheaded by her father for her Christian faith. Cetto showed a triangular bolt of lightning descending from the sky to smite Barbara’s father as, in the foreground, he raises his sword above her haloed figure. Behind this, we can see earlier events from the legend, including Barbara’s entry into the tower where she dwelt as a hermit, its three windows representing the Trinity.

While Cetto is faithful to the traditional legend, he is equally interested in imagining a fantastic Turkish cityscape filled with ornate architecture. The wax thus speaks to the larger vogue in the 1700s for "Turquerie," an exoticizing style based on Europe’s fascination with the Ottoman Empire.