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



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the nation. These are the stunning 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 tourist areas popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail stores and showed at some museums. Since Inuit art has actually been getting increasingly more worldwide direct 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 many travelers and art collectors to decide that they wish to purchase Inuit sculptures as good souvenirs for their homes or as very special gifts for others. Presuming that the objective is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost traveler replica, the question emerges on how does one differentiate the real thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to learn 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 fantastic artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, especially in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The safest places to buy Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the trusted galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.

Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be located in the downtown traveler areas of significant cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other typical traveler mementos such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with imitations or phonies . Just to be even safer, make certain that the piece you have an interest in comes with Kurt Criter 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 but not all authentic pieces are signed. Be aware that an anonymous piece https://medium.com/@kurtcriter may still be undoubtedly authentic.

Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art.

Some traveler stores do bring genuine Inuit art in addition to the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. When shopping at these types of shops, it is possible to tell apart the real pieces from the recreations. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore must have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also 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 include an artist's signature. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the store racks will look precisely like it. If there are duplicates of a specific piece with precise details, the piece is not authentic. It is most likely not genuine if a piece looks too perfect in information with absolute straight bottoms or sides. Obviously, if a piece features a sticker label showing that is was made in an Asian country, then it is obviously a phony. There will likewise be a huge price difference between authentic pieces and the imitations.

This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have info on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are normally kept in a different ( maybe even locked) rack within the store.


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is fortunate 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 acquired from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely 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 likewise have sites so you might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

Leave a Reply

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