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 touring 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 some of the major 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 displayed at some museums. Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous tourists and art collectors to decide that they wish to acquire Inuit sculptures as great keepsakes for their homes or as extremely distinct presents for others. Presuming that the intention is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a inexpensive tourist imitation, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the real thing from the phonies?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later that it isn't genuine or even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more careful in other places in Canada, particularly in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The most safe locations to shop for Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the reliable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be found in the downtown tourist locations of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other normal traveler keepsakes such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle fakes or imitations . Just to be even safer, ensure that the piece you are interested in includes a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. So understand that an unsigned piece might still be indeed authentic.

Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a good choice for buying Inuit art because the rates are usually lower than those at street retail galleries. find more info Obviously, like other shopping on the internet, one should beware so when handling an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also feature the main Igloo tags to ensure authenticity.

Some traveler stores do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of tourists. When shopping at these types of shops, it is possible to differentiate the genuine pieces from the reproductions. Authentic 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 recreation 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 business name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never 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 shop shelves will look precisely like it. If there are duplicates of a specific piece with precise details, the piece is not genuine. It is most likely not genuine if a piece looks too perfect in information with outright straight bottoms or sides. Obviously, if a piece includes a sticker indicating that is was made in an Asian country, then it is clearly a fake. There will also be a huge cost difference between authentic pieces and the replicas.

Where it ends up being harder to identify authenticity are with the recreations that are also made from stone. This can be a genuine 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 handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are more than likely not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that features it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, proceed. 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.


Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. 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 purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trusted Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might 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 buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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