Who would have guessed that a show dealing with ancient Rome could strike a topical note? Is it possible the organizers of this blockbuster exhibit from the Louvre in Paris were thinking of the declining fortunes of the world’s latest imperial power as they sorted through the artifacts of a previous decline and fall? You can see for yourself when the Indianapolis Museum of Art unveils Roman Art From the Louvre, an exhibition featuring 184 works, including mosaics, frescoes, terracotta statuettes, monumental sculptures, sarcophagi, marble reliefs and gold jewelry, most of which have never been seen in the United States.

Organized thematically, the exhibition examines everyday Roman public and private life through such lenses as religion, urbanism, war, imperial expansion, funerary practices, intellectual life and family. Opening on Sept. 23 and running through Jan. 6, the show traces the genealogy of four Roman dynasties: the Julio-Claudians, the Antonines, the Severans and the family of Constantine with works spanning the first century BC through the early fourth century AD.

This exhibition has been organized by the Musée du Louvre and the American Federation of the Arts and is the largest traveling exhibition of works ever drawn from the Louvre’s collections.

Admission is $12 for adults, $6 for children and college students and $10 for seniors. For more information about the exhibit and related programming, including videos, as well as opening day activities, go to the IMA’s redesigned Web site, www.ima-art.org, or call 317-923-1331.