Yoruba: Nine Centuries of African Art and Thought focuses on the prolific artistic expressions of the Yoruba people of western Nigeria and The People’s Republic of Benin in West Africa and the historical and cultural issues that have shaped its civilization from the twelfth to the twentieth centuries. The opening chapters explore the religious and philosophical foundations that provided the early impetus for Yoruba art. In subsequent chapters social and historical developments are juxtaposed and discussed with the works in the catalogue. The rise of the ancient kingdoms of Ife, Esie, Owo, Ijebu and Oyo are described. Women, elders, priests, members of various guilds and individual artists are shown as influential forces in maintaining the vitality and continuity of Yoruba art through the centuries. Themes of constancy, change, and innovation are discussed in the concluding chapters.

Exhibition catalogue by Henry John Drewal and John Pemberton III with Rowland Abiodun. Edited by Allen Wardwell. Foreword by Susan Vogel, preface by Wande Abimbola, and chapters, 1. The Yoruba World by Henry John Drewal, John Pemberton III, and Roland Abiodun; 2. Ife: Origins of Art and Civilization by Henry John Drewal; 3. The Stone Images of Esie by John Pemberton III; 4. The Kingdom of Owo by Rowland Abiodun; 5. Art and Ethos of the Ijebu by Henry John Drewal; 6. The Oyo Empire by John Pemberton III; 7. The Carvers of the Northeast by John Pemberton III; 8. The Artists of the Western Kingdoms by Henry John Drewal; 9. The River that Never Rests by Henry John Drewal, John Pemberton III, and Rowland Abiodun. Published and distributed by The Center for African Art and Harry N. Abrams, Inc., September 1989. 256 pp. Cloth: ISBN 0-8109-1794-7, Paper: ISBN 0-945802-04-8. LCCN: 89-22182.