Tips on How to Buy and Look For Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the nation. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in some of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist areas popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail shops and showed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of tourists and art collectors to choose that they wish to acquire Inuit sculptures as great souvenirs for their homes or as really special presents for others. Presuming that the objective is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost tourist imitation, the concern arises on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to learn later 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 fantastic artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more mindful in other places in Canada, especially in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The safest places to shop for Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the trusted galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.

Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other normal tourist mementos such as postcards or tee shirts . The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed.

Some 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 reputable online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a good option for purchasing Inuit art considering that the rates are generally lower than those at street retail galleries https://www.buzzfeed.com/kurtcriter because of lower overheads. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one should beware so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces likewise feature the main Igloo tags to make sure authenticity.

Some tourist shops do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to deal with all kinds of travelers. When shopping at these kinds of stores, it is possible to differentiate the real pieces from the reproductions. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason ought 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 reproduction will sometimes have a business name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never ever 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. If there are duplicates of a certain piece with specific information, the piece is not authentic. It is most likely not genuine if a piece looks too best in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides. Of course, if a piece features a sticker label suggesting that is was made in an Asian country, then it is clearly a fake. There will also be a big cost difference between genuine pieces and the imitations.

This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have info on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are usually kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.


Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art type at museums and galleries situated 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 safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted 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 likewise have sites so you might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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