Tips on The Best Ways To Buy and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring 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 worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and showed at some museums. Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous tourists and art collectors to choose that they want to buy Inuit sculptures as good mementos for their homes or as very distinct gifts for others. Presuming that the intent is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler replica, the question arises on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to find out later on that it isn't really authentic or even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more cautious in other places in Canada, specifically in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The safest places to purchase Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are constantly the trustworthy galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Trusted Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres totally to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be located in the downtown traveler locations of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other normal traveler mementos 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 more secure, make sure that the piece you have an interest in includes a Canadian government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might 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 indeed authentic.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art.

Some traveler stores do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all kinds of tourists. When shopping at these kinds of stores, it is possible to tell apart the genuine pieces from the recreations. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore must have some weight or mass to it. other 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 recreation will in some cases have a business name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never include an artist's signature. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the shop shelves will look exactly like it. If there are duplicates of a certain piece with precise information, the piece is not genuine. If a piece looks too ideal in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides, it is probably not real. Of course, if a piece features a sticker label suggesting that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is clearly a phony. There will also be a huge price difference between authentic pieces and the replicas.

Where it becomes harder to identify credibility are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some type of tag indicating that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are more than likely not authentic. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that includes it which will know on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if the Igloo tag is not readily available. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are usually kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) shelf within the store.


Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art Kurt Criter type 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 wonderful artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication 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 could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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