Suzanna Blier's Art And Risk In Ancient Yoruba

Suzanna Blier’s Art and Risk in Ancient Yoruba: Ife History, Power and Identity examines the creation and expression of sculptures and other arts in the ancient city of Ife. The novel provides an interesting lens into the early civilization’s culture by examining the often perplexingly technical sculptures that have intrigued historians for centuries. The first chapter specifically address Blier’s theory that the looming potential of different risks bolstered the quality and technical complexity of some of the most stunning terra-cotta and copper cast sculptures to ever be constructed. Chapter four serves as an analysis of the various body and facial marking seen in different figurines and their relation to different dynasties and their excavated …show more content…
Blier shines in her ability to clearly support her thesis — which she does quite convincingly — with well written argument which reference a multitude of sources, including her personal research, first-hand interviews with kings and priests, first-hand experience in the city of Ife and over four hundred images of specific art pieces. Indeed, perhaps Bliers greatest asset to the credibility of her arguments is her extensive usage of reproduced photographs. She uses these photographs to her advantage, for she commonly references a particular sculpture then provides a large image of the discussed piece. Her usage of these pictures makes visualizing the complexity of Ife art far easier, and it also increases the pool of evidence that she uses to support her argument. This strength, however, also ties itself to a weakness of her work, for an argument may only be as strong as its evidence. Some of the reprinted photographs are grossly outdated, thus reprinted poorly and suffer in quality. Other than this small flaw, the argument is quite persuasive, and Blier succeeds in presenting an argument which logically proves its central