Tips on Ways To Buy and Buy Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in a few of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist areas popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail shops and displayed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has actually been getting a growing number of international exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to decide that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as great mementos for their homes or as very distinct presents for others. Presuming that the intent is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a inexpensive tourist replica, the question develops on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to discover later that it isn't authentic or even made in Canada. 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 securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, particularly in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The safest places to buy Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the trustworthy galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be located in the downtown traveler areas of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other usual traveler souvenirs such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle imitations or fakes . Simply to be even safer, make certain that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. So understand that an unsigned piece might still be undoubtedly authentic.

Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street Kurt Criter Denver retail specialized galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.

Some tourist shops do bring authentic Inuit art along with the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of travelers. When shopping at these types of shops, it is possible to differentiate the real pieces from the reproductions. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore ought 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 reproduction will sometimes have a company name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never ever feature an artist's signature. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it. If there are duplicates of a particular piece with exact information, the piece is not authentic. If a piece looks too perfect in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides, it is most likely not real. Naturally, if a piece features a sticker indicating that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is obviously a phony. There will likewise be a big cost difference in between genuine pieces and the replicas.

Where it becomes more difficult to figure out credibility are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag suggesting that it was handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that includes it which will know on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not offered, move on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are generally kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) shelf within the store.


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art kind at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their useful link wonderful artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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