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



Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the nation. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art type at galleries and museums 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 occurs on how does one inform apart the real thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to find out later on that it isn't really authentic or perhaps made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more mindful somewhere else in Canada, specifically in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The best places to buy Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are constantly the trusted galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Trusted Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres completely to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be located in the downtown traveler locations of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other typical tourist souvenirs such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle imitations or fakes . Simply to be even safer, ensure that the piece you have an interest in features a Canadian federal government Igloo tag accrediting 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 anonymous piece may still be indeed authentic.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a try this great alternative for buying Inuit art since the costs are typically lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like any other shopping on the internet, one should take care so when dealing with an online gallery, ensure that their pieces likewise come with the official Igloo tags to guarantee credibility.

Some traveler shops do carry authentic Inuit art in addition to the other touristy keepsakes in order to deal with all kinds of travelers. When shopping at these kinds of stores, it is possible to tell apart the real 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 from plastic or resin from a mold will be much lighter in weight and will not be cold to the touch. A reproduction will sometimes have a company 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 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 precise details. It is probably not real if a piece looks too perfect in information with outright straight bottoms or sides. Naturally, if a piece features a sticker indicating that is was made in an Asian country, then it is obviously a phony. There will also be a substantial price distinction between genuine pieces and the replicas.

Where it becomes harder to determine credibility are with the reproductions that are also made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag showing that it was handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are more than likely not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that includes it which will have information on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not readily available. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are usually kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.


Given that Inuit art has Our site been getting more and more global 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 fantastic art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might 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 sites so you could go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

Leave a Reply

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