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



Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the nation. These are the stunning handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler areas popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail shops and displayed at some museums. Since Inuit art has actually been getting a growing number of international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to decide that they would like to acquire Inuit sculptures as good souvenirs for their homes or as really distinct gifts for others. Assuming that the objective is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist replica, the concern emerges on how does one differentiate the real thing from the fakes?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to find out later that it isn't really authentic or perhaps made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, specifically in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The most safe locations to shop for Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are constantly the reputable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other normal tourist mementos such as t-shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed.

A few of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that likewise concentrate on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a good option for buying Inuit art given that the prices are normally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like any other shopping on the internet, one should be careful so when dealing with an online gallery, ensure that their pieces also come with the main Igloo tags to guarantee authenticity.

Some traveler shops do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to accommodate all types of tourists. When shopping at these types of stores, it is possible to differentiate the real pieces from the recreations. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore needs to have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also cold to the touch. A reproduction made from plastic or resin from a mold will be much lighter in weight and will not be cold to the touch. A recreation will often have a company name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never ever feature an artist's signature. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the shop shelves will look exactly like it. The piece is not genuine if there are duplicates of a certain piece with specific details. It is most likely not real if a piece looks too perfect in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides. Obviously, if a piece includes a sticker label indicating that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is certainly a phony. There will likewise be a substantial rate difference in between genuine pieces and the imitations.

Where it ends up being more difficult to figure out authenticity are with the recreations that are also made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag indicating that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are more than likely not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not offered, move on. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are usually kept in a different ( maybe even locked) rack within the shop.


Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Kurt Criter Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise 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 however not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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