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



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. Presuming that the intent is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler replica, the question emerges on how does one inform apart the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn't authentic and even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more cautious in other places in Canada, specifically in tourist areas 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 best places to purchase Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are constantly the respectable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Respectable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other typical traveler souvenirs such as postcards or tee shirts . 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 shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that likewise focus on authentic Inuit art. Because 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. Obviously, like other shopping on the internet, one need to be careful so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also feature the official Igloo tags to ensure credibility.

Some traveler shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all kinds of tourists. When shopping at these types of shops, it is possible to differentiate the genuine pieces from the reproductions. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore must have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also cold to the touch. A reproduction made of plastic or resin from a mold will be much lighter in weight and will not be cold to the touch. A reproduction will in some cases have a company name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never ever feature an artist's signature. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the store shelves will look precisely like it. If there are duplicates of a certain piece with precise details, the piece is not genuine. If a piece looks too best in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides, it is probably not real. Obviously, if a piece features a sticker label showing that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is clearly a phony. There will also be a big rate difference between authentic pieces and the imitations.

Where it becomes harder to identify credibility are with the recreations that are also made from stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag suggesting that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are most likely not authentic. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, 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. Move on if the Igloo tag is not available. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are generally kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) shelf within the store.


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is lucky 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 local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise listed 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 but not all genuine see this here pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could 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 *