Tips on Ways To Buy and Look For Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intention is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler imitation, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece just to discover later that it isn't really genuine 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 artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, specifically in traveler locations 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 places to purchase Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are constantly the reliable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides 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 found in the downtown tourist locations of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other normal traveler souvenirs such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with replicas or fakes . Simply to be even much safer, ensure that the piece you are interested in includes 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 authentic pieces are signed. So be aware that an unsigned piece might still be undoubtedly genuine.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that also focus on genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a good choice for purchasing Inuit art since the rates why not find out more are normally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Obviously, like other https://www.intelius.com/people/Kurt-Criter/Denver-CO/0C32VFMB3R7 shopping on the internet, one should take care so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also feature the main Igloo tags to ensure credibility.

Some traveler stores do carry genuine Inuit art in addition to the other touristy mementos in order to accommodate all types of travelers. When shopping at these types of stores, it is possible to differentiate the real pieces from the recreations. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore must 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 reproduction will sometimes have a company name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never include an artist's signature. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it. The piece is not authentic if there are duplicates of a specific piece with exact details. It is probably not real if a piece looks too ideal in information with absolute straight bottoms or read sides. Of course, if a piece includes a sticker label suggesting that is was made in an Asian country, then it is certainly a phony. There will also be a huge rate difference in between genuine pieces and the imitations.

Where it becomes harder to determine credibility are with the recreations that are likewise made of 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 type of tag showing that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are probably not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that features it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not available, proceed. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are normally kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) rack within the shop.


Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, people might 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 wonderful art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might 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 might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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