Tips on 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 visiting 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 some 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 various retail stores and showed at some museums. Because Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art type 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 buy Inuit sculptures as great keepsakes for their houses or as very special presents for others. Assuming that the intent is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler replica, the question arises on how does one differentiate the real thing from the fakes?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to learn 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 wonderful artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more careful in other places in Canada, especially in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The safest places to shop for Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are constantly the reputable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be located in the downtown traveler areas of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only 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 authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with phonies or imitations . Just to be even much safer, make certain that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian federal government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Be mindful that an unsigned piece might still be undoubtedly genuine.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might shop and buy 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 authentic Inuit art.

Some tourist shops do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to deal with all kinds of tourists. When shopping at these kinds of shops, it is possible to differentiate the real pieces from the recreations. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason must have some weight or mass to it. Stone is likewise cold to the touch. A reproduction made of plastic or resin from a mold will be much lighter in check out this site weight and will not be cold to the touch. A recreation will sometimes 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 art work and absolutely nothing else on the store racks will look exactly like it. The piece is not genuine if there are duplicates of a certain piece with specific information. If a piece looks too best in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides, it is most likely not real. Of course, if a piece features a sticker label showing that is was made in an Asian country, then it is obviously a fake. There will also be a huge rate difference between authentic pieces and the replicas.

This can be a real gray location to those unknown with authentic Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have details on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are generally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.


Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all Kurt Criter authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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