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



Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Presuming that the objective is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler replica, the concern develops on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?

It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece just to find out later on that it isn't authentic and even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more mindful somewhere else in Canada, particularly in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The safest locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the reliable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be found in the downtown tourist locations of significant cities. 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 normal tourist keepsakes such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle replicas or fakes . Just to be even much safer, make certain that the piece you are interested in includes a Canadian federal government Igloo tag certifying that it was handcrafted 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 understand that an anonymous piece might still be indeed authentic.

A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a good option for purchasing Inuit art considering that the costs are generally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like other shopping on the internet, one should be careful so when handling an online gallery, ensure that their pieces also feature the main Igloo tags to ensure credibility.

Some tourist stores do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all kinds of tourists. When shopping at these kinds of stores, it is possible to differentiate the genuine pieces from the reproductions. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore should have some weight or mass to it. Stone is likewise 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 company name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never ever include an artist's signature. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the store shelves will look precisely like it. If there are duplicates of a certain piece with precise information, the piece is not genuine. If a piece looks too perfect in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides, it is most likely not real. Naturally, if a piece includes a sticker label indicating that is was made in an Asian country, then it is certainly a fake. There will likewise be a substantial rate distinction in between genuine pieces and the replicas.

This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have info on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind 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 fantastic art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local helpful hints northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely 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 likewise have websites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

Leave a Reply

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