Tips on How to Purchase and Look For Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. These are the splendid handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in a few of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler locations popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail shops and showed at some museums. Since Inuit art has been getting a growing number of international exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous travelers and art collectors to decide that they want to acquire Inuit sculptures as good souvenirs for their houses or as really special presents for others. Presuming that the objective is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a inexpensive tourist imitation, the concern develops on how does one differentiate the real thing from the phonies?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to find out later on that it isn't really genuine or perhaps made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, particularly in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The best locations to buy Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the trustworthy galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres completely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be found in the downtown traveler locations of significant cities. 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 souvenirs such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with phonies or imitations . Just to be even more secure, make sure that the piece you have an interest in includes a Canadian federal government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handcrafted 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 know that an unsigned piece may still be indeed authentic.

Some 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 specialty galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that likewise focus on authentic Inuit art. Due to the fact that of lower click to find out more overheads, these online galleries are a excellent option for buying Inuit art since the prices are usually lower than those at street retail galleries. Naturally, like other shopping on the internet, one should take care so when dealing with an online gallery, ensure that their pieces likewise come with the main Igloo tags to guarantee credibility.

Some traveler shops do bring authentic Inuit art in addition to the other touristy souvenirs in order to deal with all kinds of tourists. When shopping at these types of stores, it is possible to differentiate the genuine 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 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 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 nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it. The piece is not genuine if there are duplicates of a certain piece with exact information. If a piece looks too ideal in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides, it is probably not real. Of course, if a piece includes a sticker suggesting that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is clearly a phony. There will likewise be a big rate difference between authentic pieces and the replicas.

Where it ends up being harder to figure out credibility are with the reproductions that are likewise made from stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag showing that it was handcrafted however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable 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 features it which will know on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, proceed. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are usually kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) shelf within the shop.


Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art kind at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. 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 acquired from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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