Tips on How to Buy and Look For Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the nation. These are the splendid handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in a few of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler areas popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and displayed at some museums. Because Inuit art has actually been getting increasingly more international exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of tourists and art collectors to decide that they wish to acquire Inuit sculptures as nice mementos for their houses or as really unique gifts for others. Assuming that the objective is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist replica, the question emerges on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to learn later on that it isn't genuine 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 terrific artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, especially in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The best locations to look for Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are constantly the credible galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be found in the downtown tourist areas of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other normal traveler keepsakes such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with fakes or Kurt Criter imitations . Just to be even safer, make sure that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was handmade 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 may still be undoubtedly authentic.

Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art.

Some traveler stores do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine 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 nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it.

This can be a genuine gray area to those unknown with authentic Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have info on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are generally 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 fine art type 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 fantastic art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine 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 genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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