Medieval ivory statuettes of saints are exceedingly rare, all the more so at this relatively large scale. Standing in a slight contrapposto, St. Francis shows his hands to reveal the stigmata. Of the original polychromy, only a touch of red on the lips and the wounds survives, as well as traces of gold in the hair. With neither a nimbus nor a halo, and a barely noticeable beard, the saint has a youthful countenance. Despite its height, the statuette stands relatively straight, which indicates that it was carved from the most precious section of the ivory tusk, near the base, and that the animal was of considerable age and size. Not least because of its uniqueness, it remains difficult to establish where this near-matchless piece was made. The folds of the drapery are similar to those seen on French statuettes from around 1300, but the pupils are drilled, as is typical of only a handful of surviving ivories carved in northern France on the border with Germany. It may have been originally a standalone figure framed by a niche.