Tips on How to Purchase 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 nation. These are the splendid handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in some of the major 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 different retail shops and displayed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to decide that they wish to purchase Inuit sculptures as great mementos for their houses or as very unique presents for others. Assuming that the intention is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler replica, the concern occurs on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to discover later on that it isn't 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 careful elsewhere in Canada, especially in tourist locations 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 most safe locations to look for Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are constantly the trusted galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few 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 totally to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be found in the downtown traveler locations of significant cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other usual tourist souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with imitations or phonies . Simply to be even safer, make sure that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handmade 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 understand that an unsigned piece might still be indeed genuine.

A few of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that also concentrate on genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a good alternative for purchasing Inuit art given that the costs are usually lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like other shopping on the internet, one should take care so when dealing with an online gallery, make certain page that their pieces likewise come with the main Igloo tags to make sure authenticity.

Some tourist shops do bring genuine Inuit art in addition to the other touristy mementos in order to deal with all types of travelers. When shopping at these types of stores, it is possible to differentiate the real pieces from the recreations. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore needs 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 reproduction will in some cases have a business name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never include an artist's signature. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the shop shelves will look exactly like it. If there are duplicates of a specific piece with exact information, the piece is not authentic. If a piece looks too ideal in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides, it is most likely not real. Of course, if a piece features a sticker showing that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is obviously a phony. There will also be a huge price difference in between genuine pieces and the imitations.

This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, 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 genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are usually kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) shelf within the store.


Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Learn More 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 Kurt Criter Denver can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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