This head topped a monumental figure of a bodhisattva, as indicated by the moustache, the long hair arranged in a topknot, and the headband. This is probably Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future. Given the size of the head, the original sculpture is assumed to have been some 3 metres in height. It was probably installed in a niche within a temple or monastery complex in Gandhara (present-day Pakistan).