Tips on How to Purchase and Buy Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. These are the spectacular 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 traveler locations popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and displayed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting increasingly more global exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to decide that they would like to purchase Inuit sculptures as good keepsakes for their houses or as really special presents for others. Presuming that the intent is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost tourist imitation, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to discover later on that it isn't genuine and 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 securely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more mindful somewhere else in Canada, specifically in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

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

Credible Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be located in the downtown traveler locations of significant cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other usual traveler keepsakes such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle replicas or phonies . Simply to be even more secure, make sure that the piece you are interested in features a Canadian government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. So understand that an anonymous piece might still be undoubtedly genuine.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that also concentrate on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a good option for buying Inuit art because the rates are generally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like other shopping on the internet, one must take care so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also include the main Igloo tags to ensure authenticity.

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

Where it becomes harder to figure out credibility are with the recreations that are also made from stone. This can be a genuine gray read the article area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag suggesting 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 authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features it which will have information on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not readily available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are normally kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) shelf within the shop.


Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art type at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be Kurt Criter Denver traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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