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 country. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures carved 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 tourist locations popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail shops and showed at some museums. Because Inuit art has been getting a growing number of international exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of travelers and art collectors to choose that they would like to acquire Inuit sculptures as nice souvenirs for their homes or as extremely distinct presents for others. Presuming that the objective is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler imitation, the question arises on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to find out later that it isn't authentic and even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more mindful in other places in Canada, especially in traveler 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 sold.

The safest locations to buy Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are constantly the trusted galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be found in the downtown traveler areas of significant cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other usual traveler souvenirs such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle phonies or imitations . Simply to be even safer, ensure that the piece you are interested in includes a Canadian federal government Igloo tag licensing that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Be aware that an unsigned piece might still be indeed genuine.

Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now respectable online https://www.pinterest.com/kurtcriter/ galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.

Some traveler shops do carry authentic Inuit art along with the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all kinds of tourists. When shopping at these kinds of stores, it is possible to tell apart the real pieces from the reproductions. Genuine 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 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 business name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never ever include an artist's signature. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely like it. If there are duplicates of a specific piece with exact information, the piece is not authentic. If a piece looks too perfect in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides, it is most likely not real. Of course, if a piece includes a sticker suggesting that is was made in an Asian country, then it is undoubtedly a fake. There will likewise be a big cost distinction in between authentic pieces and the imitations.

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


Because Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. 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 Kurt Criter assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication 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 pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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