Pakistan: Bodhisattva Maiitreya or the Buddha of the Future, Gandhara, 3rd century. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Gandhara is noted for the distinctive Gandhara style of Buddhist art, which developed out of a merger of Greek, Syrian, Persian, and Indian artistic influence. This development began during the Parthian Period (50 BCE - 75 CE). Gandharan style flourished and achieved its peak during the Kushan period, from the 1st to the 5th century.