Spanish or Italian, Late 17th/18th Century

The present reliquary was carved in the form of Saint Francis, the founder of the Franciscan Order, and one of the most venerated saints in Catholicism. He is depicted here in the typical manner, wearing a brown habit and with his hair tonsured. This reliquary is thought to have housed objects related to the saint in the aperture of his chest, such as a piece of his tunic, a lock of his hair, or a fragment of bone.