The Toledo Museum of Art this fall will house an ancient art exhibition that focuses on the splendor of late Roman art surrounding the transition to a Christian society.

The 30 works that will be displayed in the exhibit Glorious Splendor: Treasures of Early Christian Art are jewelry and other luxury objects made from precious gems and stone, dating from 2nd century B.C. to 7th century A.D., said the show’s curator, Adam Levine, TMA curator of ancient art.

They will not only “dazzle” visitors, Mr. Levine said, but they are aimed to educate people about an important time in history.

“The show is arguing something and I think it’s incumbent on institutions like ours, that are educational institutions, to not just be exposing people to things but actually be creating a furthering discourse,” he said. “The show is not to be missed, both for the beauty and rarity of the objects, but also for the important contribution to help make to our understanding to a really pivotal period in human history.”

The exhibit opens Nov. 18 and runs through Feb. 18. Private collections from across the United States are loaning more than 25 of the pieces, Mr. Levine said. The museum has never had an exhibition from this particular time period, and the show is exclusive to Toledo, he said.

The time period in late Roman history, also referred to as Late Antiquity, centers around a transition from a pagan society to a Christian one, including such significant events as the consecration of Constantinople as the new Roman Empire capital and the Roman emperor Constantine the Great’s baptism in the year 337 A.D. It was a time period that also involved the continuation of the Roman empire by the Byzantine society, Mr. Levine said.

“They thought of themselves as carrying on the Roman Empire, and these works of art sort of testify to that,” he said. “Over the period looked at here, the visitors will see the introduction of explicitly Christian imagery, but done using techniques and styles and media that are remarkably consistent with pre-Christian material.”

Objects convey the artistic production in history when jewelry was fashioned from gold, silver, and precious gems, or cameos incised from stone. Many were liturgical vessels of religious significance.

“Many of these things were diplomatic gifts. “What does it mean if you are wearing an image of the emperor around your neck?” Mr. Levine said. “It’s not just an indication of loyalty, it’s meant to say, you shouldn’t mess with me.”

Pieces on display will include:

● A Roman, sardonyx cameo busts of Septimius Severus and Julia Domna, set in a gold Pendant, from about 207 A.D.

● A large silver paten showing the earliest surviving image of the Communion of the Apostles from A.D. 542.

● A cameo with pearls depicting the annunciation from 6th century A.D.

The exhibition will be free. It follows on the heels of another exhibit of antiquity opening July 8, The Berlin Painter and His World: Athenian Vase-Painting in the Early Fifth Century B.C. That exhibit will run through Oct. 1 and has a $10 admission charge.

Contact Roberta Gedert at: rgedert@theblade.com or 419-724-6075 or on Twitter @RoGedert.

First Published June 28, 2017, 4:18 p.m.