Ancient Painting On Copper, Italian School, 17th Century - Saint Francis

Remarkable copper painting depicting Saint Francis with a skull and sacred scriptures, Central Italian school, 17th century. Small paint losses as shown in the photo, but otherwise in excellent condition.
Measures 13 cm x 10 cm
The painting almost certainly depicts Saint Francis of Assisi in meditation or prayer. The iconography, combining a monk or saint with a brown habit, a book (or the Holy Scriptures), and a skull, is typical of both Saint Francis and Saint Francis. The figure wears a brown Franciscan habit and has his hand on his chest. The presence of the skull is a classic memento mori, symbolizing meditation on death and the vanity of earthly life, a subject dear to the iconography of Saint Francis in meditation. Similar works are frequent in Italian Baroque and Counter-Reformation painting (primarily from the 17th and 18th centuries), often attributed to regional schools or circles of painters known for this subject.