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

Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. These are the splendid handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist areas popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail stores and showed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to decide that they wish to purchase Inuit sculptures as great mementos for their homes or as really special gifts for others. Presuming that the intent is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a inexpensive tourist replica, the question arises on how does one differentiate the real thing from the phonies?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to discover later on that it isn't authentic or even made in Canada. If one is lucky 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 purchased from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, especially in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The most safe locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the reliable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.

Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be located 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 t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle imitations or fakes . Simply to be even more secure, make sure that the piece you have an interest in features a Canadian federal government Igloo tag licensing 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 authentic pieces are signed. Be aware that an unsigned piece may still be undoubtedly genuine.

Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a excellent option for purchasing Inuit art considering that the costs are normally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like any other shopping on the internet, one must take care so when dealing with an online gallery, ensure that their pieces likewise come with the official Igloo tags to make sure authenticity.

Some tourist stores do bring authentic Inuit art in addition to the other touristy keepsakes 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 sculpted from stone and for that reason ought to have some weight or mass to it. Stone is likewise 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 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 visit homepage genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the store shelves will look precisely like it. If there are duplicates of a certain piece with exact details, the piece is not genuine. If a piece looks too best 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 nation, then it is clearly a phony. There will likewise be a substantial rate distinction in between genuine pieces and the imitations.

This can be a genuine gray location to those unknown with genuine Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, 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. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are typically kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic https://kurtcriter.wordpress.com/ where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Credible Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.