Tips on How to Purchase and Look For Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in some of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler locations popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail shops and showed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting increasingly more global direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous travelers and art collectors to choose that they would like to purchase Inuit sculptures as nice souvenirs for their homes or as very unique gifts for others. Assuming that the intention is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist replica, the concern emerges on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to find out later on that it isn't genuine and even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more careful in other places in Canada, particularly in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The best locations to look for Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are always the reputable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.

Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other typical tourist keepsakes such as tee shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed.

A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that also concentrate on authentic Inuit art. Due to the fact that of lower overheads, these online galleries are a great option for purchasing Inuit art since the costs are usually lower than those at street retail galleries. Naturally, like any other shopping on the internet, one should take care so when dealing with an online gallery, make certain that their pieces also include the main Igloo tags to ensure authenticity.

Some traveler stores do carry authentic Inuit art in addition to the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. When shopping at these types of stores, it is possible to differentiate the genuine pieces from the recreations. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason should have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also cold to the touch. A reproduction made of plastic or resin from a mold will be much lighter in weight and will not be cold to the touch. A reproduction will in some cases have a company name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never feature an artist's signature. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the shop racks will look precisely like it. The piece is not authentic if there are duplicates of a certain piece with specific information. It is probably not genuine if a piece looks too best in information with absolute straight bottoms or sides. Of course, if a piece includes a sticker label suggesting that is was made in an Asian country, then it is obviously a phony. There will likewise be a huge price difference in between authentic pieces and the imitations.

Where it ends up being more difficult to determine credibility are with the reproductions that are likewise made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag suggesting that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are most likely not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will know on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not available, proceed. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are normally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.


Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art Kurt Criter Denver type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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