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



Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the nation. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler locations popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail shops and displayed at some museums. Since Inuit art has been getting increasingly more global direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous tourists and art collectors to choose that they want to buy Inuit sculptures as good souvenirs for their houses or as really distinct gifts for others. Presuming that the objective is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost tourist imitation, the concern arises on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to find out later on that it isn't really genuine and even made in Canada. If one is fortunate 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 bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, particularly in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The most safe places to buy Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are always the respectable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be located in the downtown tourist locations of major 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 traveler mementos such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle replicas or phonies . Simply to be even much safer, ensure that the piece you are interested in includes a Canadian federal government Homepage 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 might still be undoubtedly genuine.

Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now credible online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art.

Some tourist stores do bring authentic Inuit art along with the other touristy souvenirs in order to accommodate all kinds of tourists. When shopping at these kinds of shops, it is possible to differentiate the real pieces from the recreations. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore should have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also 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 in some cases have a business 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 art work and nothing else on the store racks will look precisely like it. The piece is not genuine if there are duplicates of a specific piece with exact details. If a piece looks too ideal in detail with outright 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 certainly a fake. There will also be a big price difference between authentic pieces and the replicas.

Where it ends up being more difficult to identify authenticity are with the recreations that are likewise made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind 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 claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, carry on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a different ( possibly even locked) rack within the shop.


Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If anchor 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 presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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