by Clint Leung
Both Inuit Eskimo art and Native American art have gained
international recognition as valuable art forms over the past few
decades. However, the rising popularity of both Inuit Eskimo art
and Native American art has resulted in the increased
proliferation of imitations and mass-produced reproductions of
original Native arts. Some obvious fakes are made in Asia from
molds where the finished pieces are forms of plastic, resin or
ceramic.
Other fakes are actually made of cast stone simulating actual
Inuit Eskimo art carvings and wood for imitation Native American
carvings. These fakes, which are harder to distinguish from
authentic artwork, are often hand carved reproductions of an
original piece of artwork. Workshops have illegally reproduced
hundreds of copies without the artisan's permission. The
counterfeiting companies would then attach some type of tag that
claims the fake pieces were influenced by aboriginal artisans and
even background information on the Native designs used in the
artwork. Some even go as far as adding in Inuit syllabics on the
bottom of the fake Inuit Eskimo art carvings.
These are very deceptive tactics on their part since they give
the consumers the impression that the imitations are authentic
and income producing for the aboriginal communities. Fakes and
imitations have lowered the image of authentic Inuit Eskimo art
and Native American art. Sales of genuine aboriginal artwork have
declined which in turn have deprived aboriginal artisans of
income. The argument against these claims is that not every
consumer can afford to buy authentic Inuit Eskimo art or Native
American art so the souvenir level reproductions legitimately
meet this part of the market. The imitations, which are usually
low priced, enable students visiting Canada for example, to bring
home a Canadian souvenir without breaking their travel budget.
This claim would have more support from Native communities if
aboriginal artisans were paid a fair royalty as income for each
imitation and reproduction piece sold. However, this is seldom
the case since most of the time, no royalties are paid at all.
The obvious fakes can be spotted quite easily. An imitation of an
Inuit Eskimo art carving spotted at a gift shop was not made of
stone as it was not cold to the touch. It was very light in
weight unlike a stone which has some mass to it. The detail and
the bottom of the piece had the molded look to it. There was even
a sticker on the bottom with the company name Wolf Originals.
Side by side comparisons of similar pieces in the souvenir store
revealed that they were all identical in every detail, which is
impossible for original artwork.
A black totem pole had a very flat uniform back and bottom again
giving away the fact that it came from a mold. Other totem poles
made from wood or mixed wood with a claim that they were hand
painted were among many similar pieces in the store. All of these
examples were each priced less than $20 Canadian which was
another indicator that they were not original artwork.
Imitations of Inuit Eskimo art sculptures were recently spotted
for sale in shops located at major Canadian airports. From a
distance, these Inuit Eskimo art sculptures of hunters, polar
bears and Inuit women with children looked very authentic.
However, each piece had several identical copies on the same
shelf.
To avoid accidentally buying a fake or imitation, it is suggested
that consumers buy Inuit Eskimo art and Native American art from
only reputable galleries and dealers rather than from tourist
souvenir shops. A piece of original, authentic Inuit Eskimo art
or Native American art is one of a kind. There should be no other
identical pieces on the shelves. In addition, original Inuit
Eskimo art carvings should come with an Igloo tag (or sticker)
which is a Canadian government registered trademark. Inuit Eskimo
art carvings that are certified by the Canadian government to be
handmade by Inuit artisans, come with Igloo tags.
All rights reserved. Copyright 2005 Clint Leung
About the Author:
Clint Leung is owner of Free Spirit Gallery, an online gallery specializing
in Inuit Eskimo and Northwest Native American art including
carvings, sculpture and prints. Free Spirit Gallery has numerous
information resource articles with photos of authentic Inuit and
Native Indian art as well as free eCards. Visit here.
