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



Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Presuming that the objective is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler imitation, the question arises on how does one inform apart the real thing from the fakes?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to learn later on that it isn't genuine and even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more mindful somewhere else in Canada, especially in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The safest locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the credible galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Respectable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be located in the downtown traveler locations of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other usual tourist souvenirs such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with phonies or replicas . Simply to be even safer, make sure that the piece you are interested in includes a Canadian government Igloo tag licensing that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Be conscious that an anonymous piece might still be certainly authentic.

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

Some traveler stores do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason should 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 shop racks will look exactly like it.

Where it becomes more difficult to determine authenticity are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a real 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 handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are most likely not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that includes it which will know on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not offered. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are usually kept in a different ( possibly even locked) rack within the shop.


Because Inuit art has been getting more and more Kurt Criter Denver worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally 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 also have websites so you could go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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