They are often assumed to have been made in Milan, then an important political and artistic center of the Holy Roman Empire; art historian Peter Lasko, however, has argued on stylistic grounds for artists trained in the Lorraine area, possibly in Metz.Lasko, 89–90. He points out that workshops serving the imperial elite may well have been rather mobile. The group of plaques is widely considered a key example of Ottonian art, exemplifying in sculpture the Ottonian style that survives more often in manuscript illustrations.
