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



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. Presuming that the intent is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler replica, the question arises on how does one tell apart 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 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 terrific artwork, then it can be safely assumed 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 careful in other places in Canada, specifically in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The best places to shop for Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are always the respectable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Reliable 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 traveler areas of significant cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other usual tourist souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with fakes or imitations . Simply to be even more secure, make certain that the piece you have an interest in includes a Canadian federal government Igloo tag licensing that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. So know that an unsigned piece might still be undoubtedly genuine.

A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might shop and buy 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 also specialize in genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a Kurt Criter Denver excellent choice for buying Inuit art given that the prices are usually 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 dealing with an online gallery, make certain that their pieces likewise come with the official Igloo tags to guarantee credibility.

Some tourist shops do bring 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 needs to 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 shop shelves will look exactly like it.

Where it ends up being harder to identify authenticity are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag indicating that it was handcrafted however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are probably 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 look these up and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not available. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are typically kept in a separate ( possibly even locked) shelf within the shop.


Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely 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 also have sites so you might shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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