Tips on The Best Ways 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 touring the country. These are the splendid 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 areas popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and displayed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of tourists and art collectors to choose that they would like to purchase Inuit sculptures as great keepsakes for their houses or as extremely unique gifts for others. Assuming that the intention is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap traveler imitation, the question occurs on how does one differentiate the real thing from the phonies?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to discover later on that it isn't really authentic and even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to 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 bought from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more careful in other places in Canada, especially in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The most safe places to buy Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are always the reputable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be located in the downtown traveler areas of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other usual traveler souvenirs such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with imitations or fakes . Just to be even safer, ensure that the piece you have an interest in features a Canadian federal government Igloo tag certifying that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. So be aware that an anonymous piece may still be undoubtedly authentic.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that also focus on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a good option for buying Inuit art considering that the prices are generally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Obviously, like other shopping on the internet, one must beware so when handling an online gallery, make sure that their pieces likewise come with the official Igloo tags to guarantee authenticity.

Some tourist stores do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to accommodate all kinds of tourists. When shopping at these kinds of shops, it is possible to differentiate the genuine pieces from the reproductions. Genuine 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 recreation will in some cases have a company 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 artwork and absolutely nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely like it. The piece is not genuine if there are duplicates of a particular piece with specific details. It is probably not real if a piece looks too ideal in information with absolute straight bottoms or sides. Naturally, if a piece includes a sticker suggesting that is was made in an Asian country, then it is clearly a phony. There will also be a big price difference in between genuine pieces and the replicas.

Where it becomes harder to figure out authenticity are with the recreations that are likewise made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some type of tag suggesting that it was handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are probably not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that includes it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, proceed. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are you can find out more usually kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.


Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art type at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the useful source carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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