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This male head is among the earliest freestanding sculptures directly associated with Buddhist worship-prior to this, fully sculpted figures were devoted to nature deity shrines. It likely belonged to a male figure affixed to the upper crossbar of a ceremonial gateway at Sanchi Stūpa 1, which was itself richly adorned with narrative scenes, an abundance of nature deities, and mythical aquatic creatures. Note the distinctive cross-tying of the turban seen here that culminates in a forehead bun backed by a fanlike arrangement of the cloth ends; such tying techniques are seen in images of nobility in the late Sātavāhana period.