Tips on Ways To Purchase and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the nation. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. Presuming that the intention is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist replica, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to find out later on that it isn't authentic or perhaps made in Canada. 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 purchased from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more cautious elsewhere in Canada, particularly in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The best places to look for Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are constantly the trusted galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other normal tourist souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . 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 likewise have sites 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 also specialize in authentic Inuit art.

Some traveler stores do bring genuine Inuit art along with the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of travelers. When shopping at these types of stores, it is possible to differentiate the real pieces from the reproductions. Genuine 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 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 in some cases have a business 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 racks will look exactly like it. The piece is not genuine if there are duplicates of a specific piece with exact details. If a piece looks too perfect in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides, it is most likely not real. Obviously, if a piece features a sticker indicating that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is clearly a phony. There will also be a huge cost distinction between genuine pieces and the replicas.

Where it becomes harder to identify authenticity are with the recreations that are also made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some type of tag showing that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not genuine. 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, place where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, proceed. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are generally kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) shelf within the shop.


Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art form 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 fantastic art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reputable Inuit art galleries are also listed 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 Kurt Criter syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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