The great devotional icons of Navarre, like those of other regions, were endowed during the Renaissance and Baroque periods with elements that increased the mystery, surprise and sumptuousness, with rich niches, dressing rooms and ostentatious pedestals, which accentuated a fearful distance from the sacred, as well as a persuasive contemplation. To this must be added some medieval elements, such as curtains and cabinets or tabernacles for veiling-unveiling, which far from disappearing, became especially present. Most of the free-standing pedestals to seat the venerable images were made of polychrome wood.

In the sixteenth century, especially in the city of Tudela and in the context of a Corpus Christi procession B , in which the reliquary busts of the great parish devotions participated, some large bases were made, with two or three bodies, such as those of St. Stephen, St. Lucy, St. Anne and St. Catherine.

To the baroque stage belong those of San Joaquín de Pamplona, the Virgen de las Maravillas de Recoletas, the Virgen de Araceli de Corella or San Gregorio Ostiense. However, the images with more cult had silver pedestals, among which are those of the Virgins of the Sagrario and the Camino de Pamplona, Our Lady of Roncesvalles or St. Nicholas of his parish in the capital of Navarre. In most of the cases, those pedestals were used to attach to the processional platforms, being able to shine in the streets and squares on the occasion of ostentatious celebrations.

To this last group belongs the one of San Fermín. It is the most sumptuous of all the silver ones. It forms an inseparable part of the reliquary bust of the saint, covered in silver on two occasions, 1530 and 1687. In 1572 the great silver teak for his relic was added to the bust, the work of the silversmith Hernando de Oñate.

position The realization of the pedestal was the work of the Pamplona silversmith Antonio Ripando, in 1736, although its design was the work of Carlos Casanova. Later, in 1787, it was decided to eliminate the eight silver angels, which were very heavy, replacing them with the current ones, made of bronze and fire-gilded. The piece presents a moving design with concave-convex profiles, and has reliefs with scenes alluding to the martyrdom of the saint and the arms of the city.

The history of project began on October 12, 1735, when the city council of the capital of Navarre noticed that, among the money belonging to the chapel of the saint, there were about 2,800 pesos, from the gifts of the viceroy Don Jose Armendariz. The aldermen considered that "what most needed to be done in the chapel of the Glorious Saint patron saint for its greater ornamentation is the silver pedestal of the saint ... taking out for it the design ordesigns that were necessary". In November 1735, the municipal authorities accepted the offer of Carlos Casanova, then resident in Pamplona to make the "trace or model" and, if necessary, also the piece. A few days later, in December of the same year, the Pamplona silversmiths Juan Antonio Hernández and José de Yábar, aware that Casanova had presented project, offered to make the pedestal with the same or other drawings they had made, setting a deadline of June 1736 and other conditions of weight and ornamentation. Casanova replied with another memorial, specifying some aspects related to the thickness of the silver, which would be different in the different parts of the piece, due to its location and having to incorporate the ornamentation of bichas, chicotes, fruit bowls and cards. The goldsmiths from Pamplona presented two guarantors and Casanova did the same with two others: the overseer of works of the bishopric Juan Antonio San Juan and the notary Joaquín Serrano, appraiser of the Royal Courts.

In that state of the procedure, the Pamplona silversmiths' guild entered the scene, arguing that no one could make works of that subject if they were not examined, according to the ordinances in force. In the end, the piece was awarded, or at least Antonio Ripando was paid for it, at a cost of 31,481 reales. This is recorded in certificate municipal of July 28, 1736, which states that it was made with the model of Casanova and the execution of Ripando, with the funds that the Marquis of Castelfuerte collected in the lands of Peru for the cult of San Fermin. It is also noted that, although the design of the Aragonese was chosen, it was agreed to be able to add or remove ornaments at the pleasure of the city council, as was done with some of the whips of the finial and other details. The recognition of the piece was made on July 12, 1736, by the goldsmith Manuel de Osma.

The author of the design, preserved in the Municipal file , was Carlos Casanova (1709-1770), born in Ejea de los Caballeros, and trained with the engraver and silversmith Francisco Zudanel y Luna, in Zaragoza. He married his master's daughter, Bárbara Zudanel, in 1725 and some of his children were born in the Aragonese capital, among them Francisco, who followed in his father's footsteps and became the chief engraver of the Mexican Mint. He left for Madrid around 1740, after a stay in Pamplona. At the court he tried, unsuccessfully, to participate in the civil service examination to fill the position of chief carver of the Madrid Mint, although it was recognized that "his ability was notorious". Little by little he achieved prestige as a painter of miniature portraits since 1749 when he received commissions from the royal household. He was painter of Fernando VI's Chamber from 1750 and a merit academician of the Royal Academy of San Fernando, from 1754. He was especially gifted for drawing, which is shown in his Libro de Ornatos, printed in the House of Juan de Aldaco (San Sebastián 1731-1732), which includes his own self-portrait.