Off the Wall

Many people don’t realize the fact, but the Northwest Coast art market is flooded with forgeries. Made in Asia, these forgeries sell are imported by the hundreds, selling for a fraction of genuine pieces. Often, they are low quality, and show little knowledge of local traditions, but a few of them show a reasonable level of skill, and even include forged signatures of well-known artists.

So how can you know if the art you are buying is genuine? Here are a few basic precautions:

1. Spend some time in galleries to see what regular prices are, both for the kind of work and for a particular artist. Forgeries will usually be 20–50% of the standard prices. Although you can sometimes find genuine bargains – for instance, the work of new artists — in most cases if the price seems too good to be true, it probably is.
2. Buy directly from reputable galleries or artists. Someone selling on the streets is unlikely to be genuine, and, the further removed from the artist a sale is, the greater the chance of forgery or fraud.
3. Talk to the seller about the piece. Be suspicious if the seller cannot talk knowledgeably about what it represents or how it was made. Beware of simple, general explanations about the piece, such as the claim that a depiction of a wolf symbolizes courage or an eagle soaring ideals.
4. Ask the seller where they studied the art, and with whom. Traditionally, Northwest Coast art has been passed down from teacher to student, and genuine artists are quick to mention their teachers. By contrast, be skeptical of people who claim to have been adopted by a First Nations group, or to have received a blessing – claims that appeal to the stereotypes of First Nations, but have little to do with the realities of the cultures.
5. Check what materials are being used. For instance, although legitimate First Nations artists sometimes experiment with other types of wood, the most common types are ones found on the northwest coast, such as red or yellow cedar, alder, and yew. By contrast, the forgeries are usually made from Asian hardwoods, such as mahogany. Argillite pieces are usually legitimate, because the Haida control the supply, although a few pieces are sometimes sold to others.
6. If you don’t know who is reputable, ask around galleries and online for recommendations. If you are buying privately, ask for some indication of authenticity.
7. When you can, see the signature on a genuine piece and compare it with the signature on a piece you are considering buying. If it looks totally different, it is a forgery. However, beware of it looking too much the same, too, because no one ever signs their signature exactly the same each time.
8. If you have a picture of a piece you want to buy, use it to search online to see if a similar design exists from another artist.
9. Educate yourself about the art by spending time in galleries or reading books like Hilary Stewart’s Looking at Indian Art of the Northwest Coast. Although the art is intricate, it is also stylized, especially the formline tradition of the northern First Nations. Asian carvers copying from pictures rarely have the knowledge to follow any existing tradition accurately. Not only does knowing the traditions teach you what to look for, but, if you know the tradition, you can also tell when the seller is using phrases like “transformation mask” incorrectly in an effort to impress you.

A single one of these precautions may not be enough to help you avoid forgeries, but several together should be. The sellers of forgeries count heavily on the ignorance and prejudices of buyers and the wish for a bargain. Respond with caution and common sense, and you have a better chance of seeing through their deceit and of not buying a worthless fake.

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