Tips on Ways To Purchase and Purchase Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. These are the splendid handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in some of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler locations popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail shops and showed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of tourists and art collectors to choose that they want to acquire Inuit sculptures as great souvenirs for their houses or as very special presents for others. Assuming that the intention is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap tourist replica, the concern arises on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later 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 wonderful artwork, then it can be securely assumed 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 cautious somewhere else in Canada, particularly in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The most safe locations to shop for Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are always the respectable 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.

Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres entirely 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 maybe Native art however none of the other usual traveler 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 government Igloo tag licensing that it was handcrafted 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 be aware that an anonymous piece may still be indeed genuine.

Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art.

Some tourist shops do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of tourists. When shopping at these types of stores, it is possible to tell apart the genuine pieces from the recreations. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore needs to have some weight or mass to it. Stone is likewise cold to the touch. A reproduction made from 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 shelves 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 outright straight bottoms or sides, it Kurt Criter is most likely not real. Obviously, if a piece includes a sticker label suggesting that is was made in an Asian country, then it is undoubtedly a phony. There will also be a substantial rate distinction in between genuine pieces and the replicas.

Where it ends up being more difficult 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 suggesting that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too 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, place where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if the Igloo tag is not offered. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are generally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.


Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but 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 home anywhere in the world.

Leave a Reply

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