Sapi is the name given to the peoples that lived along coastal Sierra Leone by Portuguese traders during the 15th and 16th centuries.  Stone objects found by Mende farmers who live in the same area today have been attributed to these peoples. Beautiful ivory carvings, known in the literature as Afro-Portuguese ivories, were commissioned by Portuguese sailors who visited this area. The ivories incorporate both African and Portuguese forms and are thought to have been made by the same people who made the stone objects found by Mende peoples.

Source:      Sapi – Art & Life in Africa – The University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art (uiowa.edu)