Tips on How to Buy and Buy 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 carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in a few 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. Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to choose that they want to acquire Inuit sculptures as great keepsakes for their houses or as really special presents for others. Assuming that the intention is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost traveler replica, the concern develops on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to learn later that it isn't really 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 wonderful artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, specifically in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The most safe locations to look for Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are constantly the trusted galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres totally to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be found 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 maybe Native art but none of the other usual traveler keepsakes such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle fakes or replicas . Simply to be even much safer, make sure that the piece you are interested in features a Canadian federal government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be Kurt Criter Denver signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Be aware that an anonymous piece may still be undoubtedly authentic.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that likewise concentrate on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a excellent option for buying Inuit art considering that the rates are usually lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like other shopping on the internet, one need to take care so when handling an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also come with the official Igloo tags to ensure credibility.

Some traveler stores do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore ought 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.

Where it becomes more difficult to identify authenticity 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 probably not authentic. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that includes it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not available, carry on. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are usually kept in a different ( possibly even locked) rack within the shop.


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be 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 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 also have websites so you could shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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