Tips on How to Buy and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler areas popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail stores and showed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to choose that they want to buy Inuit sculptures as great keepsakes for their homes or as extremely special gifts for others. Assuming that the intention is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler replica, the question arises on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to discover later on that it isn't authentic 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 fantastic artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more cautious elsewhere in Canada, specifically in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The safest places to buy Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are constantly the reputable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Reputable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres completely to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be located in the downtown tourist areas of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other usual tourist mementos such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with phonies or replicas . Just to be even more secure, ensure that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag licensing that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. So understand that an unsigned piece might still be undoubtedly genuine.

A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that likewise focus on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries Kurt Criter are a good choice for purchasing Inuit art because the rates are normally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like any other shopping on the internet, one need to take care so when dealing with an online gallery, make certain that their pieces likewise come with the main Igloo tags to make sure authenticity.

Some tourist shops do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason 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 shelves will look precisely like it.

This can be a real gray area to those unknown with genuine Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are usually kept in a different ( maybe even locked) shelf within the shop.


Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Credible Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries her explanation likewise have sites so you might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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