Christoph Lencker was born into a very important family of goldsmiths, which had been working between Nürnberg and Augsburg since the first of the dynasty, Hans Lencker, was received as master in 1550. The family established themselves by working for eminent members of royal courts which included the Princess of Hesse and Bavaria. Active in the late 16^th and early 17^th century, Christoph worked in particular for the Habsburgs and the Duke Philipp II of Pommern-Stettin. During his career, his Mannerist style gradually changed towards a more Baroque style. The impressive Clelia on a horse from the Louvre Collections (inv. MR 485) is one of his masterpieces.
The present plaque could be from an altar similar to the one in Rügenwalde, now Darlowo in Poland, commissioned by Philipp II of Pommern-Stettin. Lencker along with his son Zacharias worked on several of the 27 plaques from that commission (loc. cit., Fahn) now in the museum of Central Pomerania in Slupsk (inv. MPS/2/2/Dep). One of those plaques also depicts the Baptism of Christ. Many of the reliefs from this altar are based on engravings by Hendrick Goltzius and similarities in style between the Rügenwalde altar and the present work suggest Goltzius as a potential author of the composition.