Tips on How to Purchase and Shop for Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. These are the spectacular 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 traveler locations popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail stores and showed at some museums. Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian art kind at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to decide that they wish to acquire Inuit sculptures as nice mementos for their homes or as extremely unique presents for others. Assuming that the intention is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist replica, the question develops on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to find out later on that it isn't authentic or perhaps 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 safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, specifically in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The most safe locations to buy Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the respectable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be located in the downtown traveler areas of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other usual traveler souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with imitations or phonies . Simply to be even much safer, make sure that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was handcrafted 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 may still be certainly authentic.

A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that likewise concentrate on authentic Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a great option for buying Inuit art because the costs are typically lower than those at street retail galleries. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one must beware so when handling an online gallery, ensure that their pieces also come with the main Igloo tags to guarantee authenticity.

Some traveler stores do bring genuine Inuit art in addition to the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all kinds of tourists. When shopping at these types of stores, it is possible to differentiate the real pieces from the recreations. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason must 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 in some cases have a business name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never ever include an artist's signature. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the store racks will look read what he said exactly like it. The piece is not genuine if there are duplicates of a certain piece with exact details. It is probably not genuine if a piece looks too ideal in information with absolute straight bottoms or sides. Obviously, if a piece includes a sticker showing that is was made in an Asian country, then it is obviously a fake. There will also be a substantial rate distinction in between genuine pieces and the imitations.

This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are generally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the shop.


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. 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 safely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely 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 also have sites so https://www.peekyou.com/kurt_karcher you could go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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