Buddha Preaching, 3rd century CE, Pakistan (Gandhara). Schist. H. 71.1 x 53.3 x 22.9 cm. The Walters Art Museum Gift of John and Berthe Ford, 2012, 25.266.

Gandhara, a region in northwestern Pakistan, was conquered by the Greek king of Macedon, Alexander the Great, in 330 BCE. The conquest introduced Greco-Roman political and cultural ways of life, which were maintained and developed in the region by succeeding kings. Gandhara prospered from its proximity to land and sea routes that made the region a trading hub between Persia, Central Asia, China, and Africa. This Buddha’s wavy hair, his muscular arm, and the undulating folds of his robe reflect the artistic conventions of the Greco-Roman world. Specific characteristics of the Buddha’s body that signal his heightened wisdom include his cranial protuberance ("ushnisha"), the dot between his eyes ("urna"), and his elongated earlobes.