IV. GERMAN IVORY CARVING IN THE TIME OF THE OTTOS. Otto the Great having consolidated his power in Germany, undertook, in 962, the classic expedition to Rome to be crowned Emperor of the West. An ivory tablet, now in the Trivulzio Collection at Milan, appears to commemorate that event. It represents Otto, his wife Adelheid, and their little son, kneeling at the feet of Christ, while their patron saints, Maurice and Mary, intercede for them, the name OTTO IMPERATOR being inscribed beneath. The apparent age of the young Otto, about seven years, would coincide with the date of the coronation, making this carving valuable for comparison with other German ivories, many being of far earlier date and closely connected with the Carlovingian, from which this characteristically German art slowly developed. The style of the Trivulzio plaque is rude, the figures heavy and inclined to be coarse, but there is a largeness of design, the drapery being arranged in wide planes, and the energetic heads, with the typical long pointed beards and round cut hair, are of marked Germanic type. With this certain knowledge of the German style in the second half of the tenth century, it is easier to turn back and examine the transitional period, which is represented by a series of caskets in the Louvre, Brunswick Museum, and the Bamberg Reliquary, half of which is at Munich, and half in the Berlin Museum. The Louvre casket has many Carlovingian features, the long tiled roofs with slender columns are exactly like those in the Bible of Charles le Chauve (ninth century). That of Brunswick shows strong Byzantine influence, and the Bamberg casket is typical of the German imitations of Byzantine type; the forms have a greater fulness and a certain swing is introduced into the placid folds of the Byzantine drapery, a swing which develops into the gusty flutterings which are a curious characteristic of some of the German schools.[20] A gorgeous ivory casket is still preserved in the cathedral at Quedlinburg adorned with exquisite jewelled filigree work, and _repoussée_ plaques. The plaques are in conventional Byzantine design, while the ivory sides of the casket are ornamented with seated figures and scenes from the gospels, of Byzantine inspiration it is true, but translated into the most colloquial German. Martin Luther might have sat as a model for the heavily built angel in the Easter Morning scene, and if this casket really dates back to the time of Henry the Fowler, whose gift it is said to have been, it proves that this German national art had existed as early as the second decade of the tenth century.