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



Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the nation. These are the stunning 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 traveler areas popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail shops and showed at some museums. Since Inuit art has been getting increasingly more worldwide exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of travelers and art collectors to decide that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as great keepsakes for their homes or as extremely special gifts for others. Assuming that the intention is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap tourist replica, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to discover later that it isn't really authentic or even made in Canada. 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 securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, specifically in tourist 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 sold.

The most safe places to look for Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always the reliable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres totally to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be found in the downtown traveler areas of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other usual tourist mementos such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with phonies or imitations . Simply to be even more secure, make certain that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. So know that an anonymous piece might still be undoubtedly genuine.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home 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 tourist stores do carry authentic 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 real pieces from the reproductions. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason should 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 often have a company 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 art work and nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it. The piece is not authentic if there are duplicates of a specific piece with precise information. If a piece looks too best in detail next with absolute straight bottoms or sides, it is most likely not real. Obviously, if a piece includes a sticker label indicating that is was made in an Asian country, then it is undoubtedly a phony. There will likewise be a substantial cost difference in between authentic pieces and the replicas.

Where it becomes harder to identify authenticity are with the recreations that are also 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 handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are more than likely not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will know on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if the Igloo tag is not available. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are usually kept in a separate ( possibly even locked) rack within the store.


Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind 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 art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may 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 could go shopping and purchase try this genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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