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



Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. Because Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art kind at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intent is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist replica, the concern develops on how does one inform apart the real thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to learn later that it isn't authentic or even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more cautious in other places in Canada, specifically in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The most safe places to buy Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the credible galleries that concentrate 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 also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be located in the downtown traveler 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 normal tourist mementos such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle fakes or imitations . Just to be even safer, ensure that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Be aware that an unsigned piece may still be certainly authentic.

Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that likewise concentrate on authentic Inuit art. Due to the fact that of lower overheads, these online galleries are a great alternative for buying Inuit art because the rates are usually lower than those at street retail galleries. Naturally, like any other shopping on the internet, one need to take care so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also include the main Igloo tags to guarantee authenticity.

Some traveler stores do bring genuine Inuit art along with the other touristy keepsakes in order to deal with all kinds of travelers. When shopping at these kinds of shops, it is possible to differentiate the genuine pieces from the recreations. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason must 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 recreation will often have a business 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 nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it. If there are duplicates of a certain piece with precise details, the piece is not authentic. If a piece looks too perfect in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides, it is most likely not visit the website real. Obviously, if a piece features a sticker label suggesting that is was made in an Asian country, then it is obviously a fake. There will likewise be a big price distinction in between genuine pieces and the replicas.

Where it ends up being more difficult to determine 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 might even have some type of tag suggesting that it was handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are more than likely not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with 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 offered, proceed. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are typically kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.


Because Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great 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 fantastic art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. 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 likewise have websites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

Leave a Reply

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