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 country. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures sculpted 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 locations popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail stores and displayed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting a growing number of global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to choose that they would like to acquire Inuit sculptures as nice keepsakes for their homes or as extremely unique presents for others. Assuming that the intention is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist imitation, the concern arises 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 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 wonderful art work, 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. One would have to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, especially in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The most safe places to look for Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are constantly the reliable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Credible Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other typical tourist keepsakes such as tee shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed.

A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a good option for purchasing Inuit art considering that the rates are typically lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Obviously, like any other shopping on the internet, one should take care so when handling an online gallery, make sure that their pieces likewise come with the main Igloo tags to ensure credibility.

Some traveler shops do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason ought 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 store shelves will look precisely like it.

Where it becomes more difficult to identify authenticity are with the recreations that are also made from stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag showing that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that features it which will know on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not check out this site readily available, proceed. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are normally kept in a different ( maybe even locked) shelf within the shop.


Because Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip 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 store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may 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 websites Kurt Criter so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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