Tips on How to Buy and Buy Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. These are the stunning handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living 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 traveler areas popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail shops and displayed at some museums. Because Inuit art has actually been getting a growing number of international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous travelers and art collectors to decide that they wish to acquire Inuit sculptures as great souvenirs for their homes or as very distinct gifts for others. Assuming that the intent is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist imitation, the question emerges on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to find out later on that it isn't 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 art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, especially in tourist locations 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 safest places to shop for Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the reliable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres totally to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be located in the downtown traveler areas 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 only authentic Inuit art for sale Kurt Criter Denver as they do not deal with replicas or phonies . Simply to be even safer, make sure that the piece you are interested in includes 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 authentic pieces are signed. So be aware that an anonymous piece may still be indeed authentic.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so visit you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art.

Some traveler stores do bring authentic Inuit art along with the other touristy mementos in order to accommodate all types of tourists. When shopping at these types of shops, it is possible to differentiate the real pieces from the reproductions. Authentic 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 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 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. If there are duplicates of a certain piece with precise information, the piece is not authentic. It is most likely not genuine if a piece looks too perfect in information with outright straight bottoms or sides. Naturally, if a piece includes a sticker label showing that is was made in an Asian country, then it is certainly a fake. There will likewise be a huge cost 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 claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have details on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are generally kept in a different ( possibly even locked) rack within the store.


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip 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 local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Credible Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely 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 likewise have websites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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