Seals to Prints – Class 6 Arts Chapter 5 Notes & NCERT PDF

Class 6ArtsChapter 5NCERT book: Kriti - Arts Class 6

Notes and a simple summary of Chapter 5 of the NCERT Class 6 Arts book, with the official chapter PDF, flashcards, an MCQ quiz and an AI tutor for your doubts.

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Chapter 5: Seals to Prints (Visual Arts)

Introduction

Seals to Prints explores the design, purpose and artistic qualities of seals. Inspired by seals through history, you will design and make your own seal, test it on paper and fabric, and connect the process to the textile tradition of Ajrakh block printing — using your seals like blocks to make your own patterns and prints.

Key Ideas

What seals tell us

A seal can carry a picture symbol or text (or both).

Seals give clues about the lives, routines, social positions and beliefs of individuals, societies, kingdoms, institutions and organisations.

The seals from various periods of history shown in the book all have a picture symbol along with written text in different scripts.

Today, schools, offices and post offices use seals and rubber stamps.

Making a good seal

Design a personal symbol — a face, leaf, flower, fruit, object, animal, letter or icon — that conveys qualities or values important to you.

Keep the design simple.

A seal's impression is clear only if all portions of its design are even (flat and level).

If a design is too hard to carve, simplify it.

From seals to printing

A rubber stamp pad has ink soaked in it; the stamp is coated with ink and pressed onto paper.

Hand block printing works the same way: a carved wooden block with raised portions is inked and pressed on cloth. The same block is used repeatedly to create a continuous pattern.

Ajrakh is a special hand-block-printed textile practised in Kutch, Gujarat.

Blocks are carved by artists who specialise in wood carving.

Activities in the Chapter

Let's look at seals – find a document with a seal; discuss its image/text, what it conveys and what seals are used for; compare seals from history.

Field trip – visit the local post office; note the stamp seal's material, the postal logo and other information in the seal. Continue: look at old envelopes and documents at home. Experiment: place paper over a coin and rub with a pencil until its image appears.

Make your own seal

- Step 1 – Test with found objects: press buttons, bottle caps, sticks, leaves and coins into flat, damp clay or dough; see which make clearer impressions and why.

- Step 2 – Design your seal: a simple personal symbol.

- Step 3 – Make your seal: use easily available materials like cardboard, clay, jute rope, sponge or rubber; flatten the surface; use safe tools; simplify if needed.

- Step 4 – Test your seal: press rounded seals into clay/dough; ink flat seals and stamp them on paper; improve the design.

Printing – study hand block printing and Ajrakh; meet local carpenters or wood carvers; create a continuous pattern with your seal.

Key Terms

Seal – a device that makes an impression of a symbol or text (मुहर)

Stamp – a seal used with ink (ठप्पा/मोहर)

Impression – the mark a seal leaves (छाप)

Symbol – a picture that stands for an idea (प्रतीक)

Logo – symbol of an organisation (प्रतीक-चिह्न)

Script – a system of writing (लिपि)

Carving – cutting into a material to shape it (नक्काशी)

Raised surface – parts that stand up and take ink (उभरा भाग)

Block printing – printing with carved blocks (ठप्पा छपाई)

Ajrakh – block-printed textile of Kutch (अजरख)

Continuous pattern – design repeated without break (निरंतर नमूना)

Stamp pad – ink-soaked pad (स्याही पैड)

Connect to Your Life

Look at your school ID card, a post office envelope, or a bill with a rubber stamp — all use seals! Printed bedsheets and dupattas may have been block printed.

Common Mistakes

Making the design too detailed — keep it simple.

Uneven seal surfaces — the print comes out patchy.

Forgetting that the raised parts print, not the carved-away parts.

Saying Ajrakh comes from Rajasthan — the book places it in Kutch, Gujarat.

Let's Reflect

What does your seal say about you?

Which found objects made the clearest impressions, and why?

How is a rubber stamp like a hand block?

💡 Key Learning Points

✓Explain the purposes of seals and what they reveal about people and institutions
✓Design a simple personal symbol for a seal
✓Make and test a seal using clay, cardboard, rubber or other materials
✓Connect seals and rubber stamps to hand block printing
✓Know Ajrakh as a block-printed textile of Kutch, Gujarat

👨‍🏫 Teaching Tips

→Bring real seals, rubber stamps and stamped envelopes to class
→Arrange a visit to the local post office with the three guiding questions
→Let students test found objects in clay before designing
→Emphasise simple, even designs; show a patchy vs clear print
→Supervise all cutting and carving tools
→Show a wooden block and an Ajrakh fabric sample if possible
→Create a class banner from repeated seal prints

📋 Assessment Questions

Can the student state three things seals can tell us?
Is the seal design simple and personal?
Does the seal give a clear impression, showing an even surface?
Can they explain how block printing is similar to rubber stamps?
Can they name and locate Ajrakh?

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