Class 6 Arts (Kriti-I) Chapter 5, Seals to Prints, connects ancient Indus Valley (Harappan) steatite seals with hands-on relief stamp carving, geometric repeat patterns, and India’s celebrated Ajrakh and wooden block-printing textile traditions.
What Class 6 Art Chapter 5 Covers
Looking at Ancient Seals & Carving Your Own Seal (Activities 1–3) examines Harappan seals (bull, unicorn, Pashupati motifs) and school rubber stamps, then carves relief seals using erasers, potatoes, clay, cardboard and string.
Block Printing on Paper & Fabric — Ajrakh Tradition (Activity 4) experiments with mirror-image reversal, rotational/grid repeat patterns and natural-dye Ajrakh block printing from Kutch (Gujarat) and Rajasthan to print borders and motifs on paper and cloth.
What seals tell us: seals carry a picture symbol and often text, and give clues about the lives, beliefs and status of people, kingdoms and institutions. Activity 2 is a visit to the local post office to see the materials, logos and information on postal seals, and you can take a pencil rubbing of a coin.
Making your own seal: first press buttons, bottle caps, leaves and coins into flat, damp clay to see which give clear impressions. Then design a simple personal symbol and carve it in cardboard, clay, jute rope, sponge or rubber, keeping the surface even so the print is clear. The seals are then used like blocks, linking to the ajrakh block printing of Kutch, Gujarat.
Exercises in Chapter 5
- Studio Activities, step-by-step creative exercises, and peer/self-reflection prompts.
Read Class 6 Art Chapter 5 Online
More Chapters
- Previous: Chapter 4: Paper Crafts
- Next: Chapter 6: Music and your Emotions
- Hindi medium: Class 6 Arts Chapter 5 PDF in Hindi (Kriti-I)
- All Art chapters and the other Class 6 books: Class 6 NCERT books 2026-27
- All Class 1 to 12 NCERT Textbooks: NCERT Books PDF (Class 1–12)
- Every book chapter by chapter: NCERT chapter wise PDF
FAQ
Why must letters or asymmetric shapes be carved in reverse on a seal or printing block?
Because stamping transfers a mirror image of the block onto the surface; carving in reverse ensures the printed impression reads in the correct orientation.
What is Ajrakh block printing?
Ajrakh is an ancient hand-block printing textile tradition practiced in Kutch (Gujarat) and Barmer (Rajasthan), renowned for its intricate geometric and floral symmetry printed with natural indigo and madder dyes.
What is ajrakh?
A traditional block-printed textile made in Kutch, Gujarat.