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



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. These are the splendid handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in a few of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and showed at some museums. Because Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of travelers and art collectors to decide that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as good keepsakes for their houses or as really unique gifts for others. Presuming that the objective is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist imitation, the question arises on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn't really genuine or perhaps made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious in other places in Canada, particularly in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The safest places to look for Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always the trusted galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Trusted Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other typical traveler mementos 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.

A few of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that also concentrate on genuine Inuit art. Due to the fact that of lower overheads, these online galleries are a great option for purchasing Inuit art since the prices are usually lower than those at street retail galleries. Naturally, like any other shopping on the internet, one must be careful so when handling an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also include the main Igloo tags to ensure credibility.

Some tourist stores do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to accommodate all types of travelers. When shopping at these types of stores, it is possible to tell apart the real pieces from the recreations. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason must have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also 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 recreation will sometimes have a business name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never ever include an artist's signature. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the store racks will look exactly like it. If there are duplicates of a certain piece with exact details, the piece is not authentic. It is probably not real if a piece looks too best in information with absolute straight bottoms or sides. Naturally, if a piece features a sticker label suggesting that is was made in an Asian country, then it is undoubtedly a phony. There will likewise be a huge rate distinction in between genuine pieces and the imitations.

Where it ends up being more difficult to determine credibility are with the recreations that are also made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag suggesting that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are more than likely not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will know on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if the Igloo tag is not available. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are normally kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) rack within the shop.


Because Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, check my blog individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be Kurt Criter Denver safely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

Leave a Reply

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