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. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Presuming that the intention is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost 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 find out later on 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 artwork, then it can be securely 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 cautious in other places in Canada, particularly in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The most safe locations to look for Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are always the trustworthy galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be found in the downtown traveler locations of significant cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other normal tourist mementos such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with fakes or replicas . Just to be even safer, make certain that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian federal government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Be mindful that an unsigned piece might still be certainly authentic.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trustworthy online site link galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.

Some tourist stores do bring genuine Inuit art along with the other touristy keepsakes in order to accommodate all kinds of tourists. When shopping at these types of stores, it is possible to tell apart the real pieces from the reproductions. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason needs to 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 recreation will often have a company 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 artwork and nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it. The piece is not genuine if there are duplicates of a particular piece with specific information. It is most likely not genuine if a piece looks too best in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides. Obviously, if a piece includes a sticker showing that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is undoubtedly a phony. There will likewise be a big price distinction in between authentic pieces and the replicas.

Where it becomes harder to identify credibility are with the recreations that are also made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag suggesting that it was handcrafted however if Kurt Criter there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that includes it which will know on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not readily available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are generally kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) rack within the shop.


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. 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 securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine 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 likewise have sites so you could shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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