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



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art kind at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intention is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist replica, the concern arises on how does one inform apart the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to learn later on that it isn't really 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 wonderful art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, particularly in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The safest locations to look for Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are constantly the reliable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.

Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be located in the downtown tourist areas of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other typical traveler souvenirs such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with imitations or fakes . Simply to be even safer, make sure that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian 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. Be conscious that an unsigned piece might still be certainly genuine.

Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art.

Some tourist stores do bring authentic Inuit art as well as Kurt Criter Denver the other touristy souvenirs in order to accommodate all types of travelers. When shopping at these types of shops, it is possible to differentiate the real pieces from the recreations. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore should 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 in some cases have a company name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never include an artist's signature. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the store racks will look exactly like it. If there are duplicates of a particular piece with exact details, the piece is not genuine. If a piece looks too ideal in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides, it is most likely not real. Of course, if a piece features a sticker suggesting that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is obviously a fake. There will also be a huge price distinction between authentic pieces and the replicas.

Where it becomes more difficult to identify authenticity are with the recreations that are likewise made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag suggesting that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are probably not authentic. 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 sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not offered, move on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are usually kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) rack within the store.


Because Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also 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 could go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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