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 touring the country. These are the splendid handmade sculptures sculpted 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 tourist areas popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail shops and showed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous travelers and art collectors to decide that they would like to purchase Inuit sculptures as good mementos for their homes or as very distinct presents for others. Presuming that the objective is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler imitation, the question develops on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn't really genuine or even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, specifically in tourist 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 offered.

The most safe locations to look for Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are always the reliable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Respectable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be located in the downtown traveler areas of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will Kurt Criter be only Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other normal traveler souvenirs such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with replicas or fakes . Just to be even more secure, make sure that the piece you are interested in features a Canadian federal government Igloo tag certifying that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all sites authentic pieces are signed. Be conscious that an anonymous piece might still be indeed authentic.

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

Some traveler stores do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore must have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it.

Where it ends up being harder to identify credibility are with the reproductions that are also made of 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 kind of tag suggesting that it was handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that includes it which will know on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are typically kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) rack within the store.


Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. 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 regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Credible Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely 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 websites so you could go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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