Tips on Ways To Buy and Look For Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the nation. These are the stunning handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail shops and showed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting increasingly more international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian art kind at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to choose that they wish to acquire Inuit sculptures as nice keepsakes for their homes or as very distinct presents for others. Assuming that the objective is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler imitation, the question arises on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?

It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later on that it isn't authentic or perhaps made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more mindful in other places in Canada, specifically in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The most safe locations to buy Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are constantly the credible galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other typical tourist keepsakes such as tee shirts or postcards . 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 sites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that also focus on authentic Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a good alternative for buying Inuit art because the rates are generally lower than those at street retail galleries. Obviously, like other shopping on the internet, one should take care so when dealing with an online gallery, make certain that their pieces likewise include the main Igloo tags to guarantee credibility.

Some traveler stores do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore needs to have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely like it.

Where it ends up being more difficult to identify authenticity are with the recreations that are likewise made from 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 comparable in detail, they are more than likely not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, carry on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are generally kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) shelf within the store.


Because Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would Kurt Criter be genuine. Respectable 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 authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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