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



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. These are the stunning handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in a few of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and showed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting a growing number of worldwide exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous travelers and art collectors to choose that they want to purchase Inuit sculptures as good souvenirs for their houses or as extremely distinct presents for others. Assuming that the intent is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost tourist imitation, the concern occurs on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be quite frustrating 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 taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more mindful elsewhere in Canada, particularly in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The best places to buy Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are constantly the trustworthy galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.

Credible Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other normal traveler keepsakes such as postcards or tee shirts . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed.

Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that also focus on genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a good option for purchasing Inuit art because 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 handling an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also include the main Igloo tags to make sure authenticity.

Some traveler shops do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all kinds of tourists. When shopping at these types of stores, it is possible to tell apart the real pieces from the reproductions. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason needs to have some weight or mass to it. Stone is likewise cold to this 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 company name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never ever feature an artist's signature. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely like it. If there are duplicates of a particular piece with exact details, the piece is not authentic. It is most likely not genuine if a piece looks too best in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides. Obviously, if a piece features a sticker suggesting that is was made in an Asian country, then it is obviously a phony. There will also be a substantial cost difference between genuine pieces and the replicas.

Where it ends up being more difficult to figure out authenticity are with the reproductions that are also made from stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar 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 most likely not authentic. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features it which will have information on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if the Igloo tag is not available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are typically kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) rack within the store.


Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. 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 shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally 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 websites so you could 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 *