Tips on How 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 visiting the country. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. Assuming that the intention is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler replica, the question develops on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to learn later that it isn't genuine or perhaps 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 safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, particularly in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The most safe locations to look for Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the respectable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. 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 mementos such as tee shirts or postcards . 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 sites so you might shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home 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.

Some tourist shops do carry authentic 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 differentiate the real pieces from the recreations. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason should 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 in some cases have a business name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never feature an artist's signature. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it. https://www.pinterest.com/kurtcriter/ The piece is not genuine if there are duplicates of a particular piece with precise details. If a piece looks too best in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides, it is most likely not real. Naturally, if a piece includes a sticker label suggesting Kurt Criter that is was made in an Asian country, then it is clearly a phony. There will likewise be a big cost difference between authentic pieces and the imitations.

Where it ends up being more difficult to determine credibility are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag indicating that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most 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 know 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 authorities Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a separate ( possibly even locked) shelf within the shop.


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern shop or straight Kurt Criter from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. 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 also have websites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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