Gandharan art of this period is heavily influenced by its early contact with Mediterranean cultures, primarily from the Hellenic world. The routes Alexander the Great took while on conquest remained linked by trade for centuries after he left. This depiction of the Buddha shows that influence in the soft overall oval-shape of the face and its well defined straight nose, arch of the brows, and heavily lidded eyes. It most likely would have been situated in a niche of a temple, with the back left unfinished either as an attachment for a halo or directly into the wall of the niche.