With straight backs and level gazes, the men and women represented in these wood and stone sculptures are confident and self-assured. Between 1200 and 1700, Sapi men and women along West Africa's Guinea Coast commissioned artists to carve portraits of their loved ones. Artworks like these provide insight into life in this early modern period. Note the male figure on your right. The tankard in his hand comes from the Netherlands. People along thte Guinea Coast bought luxury goods from Portugese traders, who first arrived on the coast 1465. Its inclusion in this portrait sculpture tells us that the man depicted was wealthy, well-connected, and potentially worked as a merchant or trader.