Tips on How to Purchase and Purchase Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. These are the stunning handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living 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 different retail stores and displayed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting increasingly more global exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous travelers and art collectors to choose that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as great souvenirs for their homes or as extremely special gifts for others. Assuming that the intention is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap tourist imitation, the concern emerges on how does one differentiate the real thing from the fakes?

It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later on that it isn't authentic or perhaps made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, particularly in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The best places to shop for Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are always the trusted galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.

Trusted Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be found in the downtown tourist locations of major cities. https://myspace.com/kurtcriter When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other usual traveler mementos such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with phonies or imitations . Just to be even safer, make certain that the piece you are interested in features a Canadian government Igloo tag licensing that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. So be aware that an anonymous piece might still be certainly genuine.

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

Some tourist stores do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore must have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the store racks will look exactly like it.

Where it ends up being more difficult to identify credibility are with the reproductions that are likewise made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag indicating that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are probably not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that features it which will have information on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not available, proceed. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.


Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally 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 might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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