Tips on How 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 spectacular handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in a few of the major 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 numerous retail stores and showed at some museums. Because Inuit art has actually been getting increasingly more international direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous travelers and art collectors to decide that they want to purchase Inuit sculptures as good souvenirs for their homes or as very special gifts for others. Assuming that the objective is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler replica, the question emerges on how does one differentiate the real thing from the phonies?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to learn later that it isn't genuine 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 terrific 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. One would need to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, particularly in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The safest locations to shop for Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the respectable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be found in the downtown tourist areas of significant cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other usual tourist mementos such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with phonies or replicas . Simply to be even more secure, ensure that the piece you have an interest in includes a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying 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 genuine pieces are signed. So be aware that an unsigned piece may still be certainly authentic.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites 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 reputable online galleries that also concentrate on genuine Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a excellent choice for purchasing Inuit art since the prices are normally lower than those at street retail galleries. Of course, like other shopping on the internet, one need to take care so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also come with the official Igloo tags to guarantee authenticity.

Some traveler stores do bring authentic Inuit art in addition to the other touristy souvenirs in order to accommodate all kinds of tourists. When shopping at these types of shops, it is possible to tell apart the real pieces from the reproductions. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore ought to have some weight or mass to it. Stone is likewise cold to the touch. A recreation 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 often 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 nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it. The piece is not genuine if there are duplicates of a specific piece with precise details. It is most likely not genuine if a piece looks too best in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides. Naturally, if a piece features a sticker indicating that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is clearly a phony. There will likewise be a substantial rate home difference between authentic pieces and the replicas.

Where it ends up being more difficult to determine credibility are with the recreations that are likewise made from stone. This can be a real 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 handcrafted however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are probably not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features it which will know on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was company website carved. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, move on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are usually kept in a different ( possibly even locked) shelf within the store.


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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