Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c9.s1.t7.2

c9.s1.t7.2

³⁵ Technically, a seal is a mold made of a hard material such as fired clay, stone, or copper used to form an impression or sealing on a soft material, usually clay. Thus a seal inscription in the strict sense appears in reverse or mirror image, while a sealing inscription appears in the normal direction. In practice, however, the term "seal" is often loosely used to apply to sealing inscriptions (which are much more common) as well as to seals in the proper sense.