Tips on The Best Ways 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 exploring the country. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in a few of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and showed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting increasingly more worldwide direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of tourists and art collectors to choose that they wish to acquire Inuit sculptures as good mementos for their houses or as really unique presents for others. Assuming that the objective is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap tourist imitation, the concern emerges on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later on that it isn't authentic 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 art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, particularly in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The best places to look for Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are always the reputable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.

Credible Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other typical traveler souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . 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 likewise have websites so you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a great alternative for purchasing Inuit art since the rates are usually lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Obviously, like any other shopping on the internet, one need to beware so when dealing with an online gallery, make certain that their pieces also feature the main Igloo tags to ensure authenticity.

Some traveler shops do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted 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 absolutely nothing else on the shop shelves will look exactly like it.

Where it becomes harder 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 may even have some kind of tag suggesting that Kurt Criter 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 claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will know on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not offered. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are normally kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) shelf within the shop.


Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired 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 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 likewise have websites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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