Marquis first became interested in glass work while studying ceramics with Peter Voulkos at the University of California, Berkley during the 1960s. Later Marquis went on to teach at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is perhaps best known for his work with murrine, a type of glass in which sticks of variously colored glass are bundled together to form a pattern or design and then heated, fused and drawn into thin "canes." These canes are then sliced into small cross sections and used to create mosaics which are then fused into single objects. This technique allows his, often outrageously shaped works to be highly patterned and decorative. Some of his most unique objects are part of his Murano-inspired Marquiscarpa series, which comprises footed platters of various sizes and heights of inordinate impracticality, such as this one.