The ancient civilization of Gandhara was located in the region encompassing modern northeaster Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. Situated at confluence of trading paths along the Silk Route, th area was flooded in diverse cultural influence ranging from Greece to China. Gandhara flourished under the Kushan Dynasty and their great king, Kanishka, who is traditionally given credit for spreading the philosophies of Buddhism throughout central Asia and into China. This period is viewed a the most important era in the history of Buddhism.

After the conquests of Alexander the Great, the creation of Greco-Bactrian kingdoms, and the general Hellenization of the subcontinent, Western aesthetic became prominent. Greek influence began permeating into Gandhara. Soon sculptors based the images of the Buddha on Greco-Roman models, depicting Him as a stocky and youthful Apollo, complete with stretched earlobes and loose monastic robes similar to a Roma toga. The extraordinary artistic creations of Gandhara reveal links between the different worlds of the East and West. In the Buddhist religion, Bodhisattvas are souls who have attained enlightenment and no longer need to reincarnate, but forsake nirvana and choose to come back in order to alleviate the suffering of others. This stunning Gandharan stucco sculpture of the head of a Bodhisattva reveals that these spiritual beings were celebrated even then, as Buddhism began to spread from India eastwards.