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



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intent is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler imitation, the concern develops on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to discover later on 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 terrific art work, then it can be safely assumed 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 careful somewhere else in Canada, specifically in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The best locations to buy Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the reputable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Reliable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be found in the downtown traveler locations of significant cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other normal traveler keepsakes such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle replicas or fakes . Just to be even safer, make sure that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian federal government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. So know that an anonymous piece may still be indeed authentic.

A few of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that also concentrate on authentic Inuit art. Because of lower overheads, these online galleries are a excellent option for Kurt Criter Denver purchasing Inuit art because the rates are typically lower than those at street retail galleries. Naturally, like any other shopping on the internet, one need to beware so when handling an online gallery, make sure that their pieces likewise come with the official Igloo tags to make sure authenticity.

Some traveler stores do carry authentic Inuit art along with the other touristy souvenirs in order to accommodate all kinds of travelers. When shopping at these types of stores, it is possible to differentiate the genuine pieces from the reproductions. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason needs to 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 recreation will often have a company name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never feature an artist's signature. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the shop racks will look precisely like it. The piece is not genuine if there are duplicates of a particular piece with specific details. If a piece looks too perfect in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides, it is probably not real. Obviously, if a piece features a sticker suggesting that is was made in an Asian country, then it is certainly a fake. There will also be a huge price difference between authentic pieces and the replicas.

Where it ends up being harder to figure out authenticity are with the reproductions that are also made from stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar 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 comparable in detail, they are probably not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features it which will know on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, proceed. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are normally kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) shelf within the shop.


Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. Read More Here The Inuit sculpture might 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 could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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