Tips on How to Buy and Purchase 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 spectacular handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist areas popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail stores and displayed at some museums. Because Inuit art has been getting increasingly more global direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to choose that they wish to purchase Inuit sculptures as great mementos for their homes or as really unique presents for others. Assuming that the intention is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a inexpensive tourist replica, the question emerges on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only 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 wonderful artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more cautious elsewhere in Canada, particularly in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The safest places to purchase Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are always the trustworthy galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.

Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other usual traveler souvenirs such as tee shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture may 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 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 trusted online galleries that also concentrate on genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a great alternative for purchasing Inuit art because the rates are normally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like other shopping on the internet, one need to beware so when handling an online gallery, make sure that their pieces likewise come with the main Igloo tags to ensure authenticity.

Some traveler stores do carry genuine Inuit art along with 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 reproductions. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason needs to have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also cold to the touch. A reproduction 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 sometimes 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 absolutely nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it. If there are duplicates of a specific piece with specific information, the piece is not authentic. If a piece looks too best in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides, it is most likely not real. Of course, if a piece features a sticker indicating that is was made in an Asian country, then it is certainly a fake. There will also be a huge price difference between genuine pieces and the replicas.

This can be a genuine gray area to those unknown with authentic Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have info on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are typically kept in a different ( possibly even locked) rack within the store.


Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to click here to find out more be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely 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 websites so you might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in additional hints the world.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *