Tips on The Best Ways To Buy 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 nation. Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. Assuming that the objective is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler imitation, the concern occurs on how does one inform apart the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to learn later on that it isn't really 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 safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more careful in other places in Canada, especially in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The most safe locations to look for Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always the trusted galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Reputable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be found in the downtown traveler areas of major cities. 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 tourist souvenirs such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle phonies or replicas . Simply to be even more secure, ensure 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 authentic pieces are signed. So understand that an unsigned piece may still be indeed genuine.

A few of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that also concentrate on authentic Inuit art. Because of lower overheads, these online galleries are a great option for buying Inuit art given that the costs are generally lower than those at street retail galleries. Naturally, like other shopping on the internet, one should beware so when dealing with an online gallery, ensure that their pieces likewise include the official Igloo tags to make sure authenticity. Kurt Criter

Some tourist stores do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason 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 shop racks will look precisely like it.

Where it ends up being harder to figure out authenticity are with the recreations that are also made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag showing that it was handcrafted however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are probably not authentic. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that includes it which will have information on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not available, proceed. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are usually kept in a separate ( possibly even locked) rack within the shop.


Because Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people might 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 wonderful art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted 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 genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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