Tips on How to Buy 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. Because Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Presuming that the intent is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist imitation, the concern arises on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later on that it isn't really genuine or even made in Canada. 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 assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more cautious elsewhere in Canada, especially in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The best places to shop for Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are always the reliable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres totally to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be found in the downtown tourist locations of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other typical 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 . Simply to be even much safer, make certain that the piece you have an interest in includes a Canadian 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 but not all genuine pieces are signed. So be aware that an unsigned piece might still be certainly genuine.

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

Some tourist shops do bring authentic Inuit art along with the other touristy souvenirs in order to deal with all types of tourists. When shopping at these kinds of stores, it is possible to differentiate the real pieces from the recreations. Authentic 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 recreation will sometimes have a business name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never feature an artist's signature. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the store racks will look exactly like it. If there are duplicates of a certain piece with specific details, the piece is not authentic. It is probably not genuine if a piece looks too best in information with absolute straight bottoms or sides. Naturally, if a piece features a sticker suggesting that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is clearly a phony. There will also be a huge cost difference between authentic pieces and the imitations.

Where it ends up being harder to determine authenticity are with the reproductions that are likewise made of 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 indicating that it was handcrafted however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too my latest blog post similar in detail, they are more than likely not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, 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. Move on if the Igloo tag is not available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are typically kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.


Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind 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 wonderful art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. 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 also have sites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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