Tips on How to Buy and Shop for Genuine 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 international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intent is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler imitation, the question develops on how does one inform apart the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to discover later on that it isn't really authentic and even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more cautious elsewhere in Canada, especially in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The most safe places to purchase Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the trustworthy galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.

Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres totally to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be found in the downtown tourist locations of major 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 typical tourist keepsakes such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with fakes or replicas . Just to be even more secure, make certain that the piece you are interested in includes a Canadian 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 genuine pieces are signed. So be aware that an anonymous piece might still be undoubtedly authentic.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these find more information street retail specialized galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.

Some traveler shops do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of this website tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved 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 becomes harder to figure out authenticity 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 might even have some type of tag indicating that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable 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 have information on the artist, place where it was made and the Kurt Criter year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not available, carry on. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are typically kept in a different ( possibly even locked) shelf within the store.


Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful 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 genuine. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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