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



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting 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 a few of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail shops and showed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has actually been getting a growing number of worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to choose that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as nice keepsakes for their houses or as very special presents for others. Assuming that the intent is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost tourist imitation, the question arises on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece just to discover later that it isn't really authentic or perhaps made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip 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 purchased from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more mindful elsewhere in Canada, specifically 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 offered.

The safest places to shop for Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the trusted galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.

Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other typical tourist keepsakes such as postcards or tee shirts . The Inuit sculpture may 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 websites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a excellent option for buying Inuit art given that the prices are typically lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like any other shopping on the internet, one should beware so when handling an online gallery, ensure that their pieces also include the main Igloo tags to guarantee authenticity.

Some tourist shops do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all kinds of travelers. When shopping at these kinds of shops, it is possible to differentiate the genuine pieces from the reproductions. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore must have some weight or mass to it. Stone is likewise 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 often have a company name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never feature an artist's signature. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the store shelves will look precisely like it. If there are duplicates of a certain piece with precise details, the piece is not genuine. It is most likely not real if a piece looks too best in information with absolute straight bottoms or sides. Of course, if a piece includes a sticker label showing that is was made in an Asian country, then it is obviously a fake. There will also be a big price distinction between genuine pieces and the replicas.

Where it ends up being 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 may even have some type of tag indicating that it was handcrafted however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not authentic. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which Kurt Criter Denver will know on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, carry on. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are normally kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.


Because Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not special info all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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