In most art history classes, the closest students get to real artifacts is looking at photographs ­— especially when it comes to studying ancient art history.

But for a group of 12 UW students, studying those artifacts up close has been made possible thanks to Roman Art from the Louvre, a temporary exhibition now in its final weeks at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM).

Margaret Laird, an assistant professor of art history, works as an adviser to the SAM’s classical collection. She has incorporated the exhibition into the curriculum of her Roman Sculpture class because she understands the rarity of having the chance to view a collection of pieces with such a prestigious past.

“It’s an opportunity to see what you’re studying,” Laird said. “[It’s] an unparalleled opportunity.”

To further allow her students to take advantage of the exhibition’s presence in Seattle, Laird will hold five of her classes in the museum throughout the quarter. During these sessions, students will give a presentation on pieces they have been researching, while Laird will help facilitate the conversation. However, she really looks to her students to provide their own interpretations on the pieces to stimulate the group’s conversation. These interpretations are based on their readings and the course material, said Hallie Mass, a senior in Laird’s class.

“I appreciate her interest in student participation and student learning,” Mass wrote in an e-mail. “She expects us all to perform at a high level, which pushes us to further our thinking and challenge the scholarship that we study and refer to.”

An art history and communication major, Mass signed up for the class based on her previous experiences with Laird as a professor. Both were a part of the art history study abroad program in Rome last spring, and Mass said Laird’s enthusiasm inspired her to take as many classes from the professor as possible before she graduates. Mass said that she assumed that the class would visit the exhibition at the SAM, but she didn’t realize how central the trips would be to the class.

“I find it to be a refreshing experience,” she said.

Laird was not the only one to take advantage of the collection’s time in Seattle to help teach a class. SAM spokesperson Cara Egan said the museum has seen a large response from area schools, from elementary ages to colleges and universities.

“All the school tours are sold out,” she said.

Egan said that all pieces in the collection — ranging from sculptures, mosaics and jewelry, to sarcophagi and frescos — are from the Roman Empire between the late first century B.C. and the fourth century A.D. Some pieces once belonged to a French king, while others were bought by Napoleon, so they did not come with the usual ethical issues of looting that create problems for such collections of ancient art. This is part of why Laird was so excited to see the collection come to Seattle.

The professor’s enthusiasm was not born out of nothing.

When Laird was a graduate student at Princeton, she studied both Greek and Roman art but specialized in the latter. She considers the Romans sophisticated because they used their art for interesting purposes, such as portraiture. Although portraits would show what a person looked like, it would not be entirely accurate because the pieces were more of a reflection of an individual’s public persona. Emperors used this type of imagery as a type of propaganda, Laird said. Since this technique serves a specific purpose, it was very modern in Roman times — another reason why Laird chose to focus on Roman art.

Laird’s enthusiasm wasn’t just an attraction for students like Mass; it also caught the attention of the SAM. Since the museum does not have a curator for Roman art, the curatorial team had to find someone available to do the job.

“She was perfect for the job,” Egan said. The museum and the UW have held a close relationship for a long time, and it was probably through these ties that Laird was recommended, Egan said.

Laird was first approached to evaluate the proposal for the exhibition in 2005. She said she wa honored to be a part of the project.

“It was a unique opportunity that I took advantage of,” Laird said.

As guest curator, she was heavily involved in preparing for the exhibit’s arrival. She worked with two French curators from the Louvre Museum in Paris who picked the pieces to be showcased, wrote the catalog and gave a design proposal on how the 184-piece collection would be displayed. Laird’s job was to make sure what they proposed would work here in Seattle and was suitable for an audience that is different from the Louvre’s typical European patrons. For example, the Latin in the wall texts and quotes was eliminated because Latin classes are less common in the American education system than in European schools.

The exhibition will be on display until May 11, with various special events leading up to its close.