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



Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Assuming that the objective is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler replica, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?

It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to discover later that it isn't really genuine or perhaps made in Canada. 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 safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, especially 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 look for Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are always the reputable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be found in the downtown traveler locations of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other typical traveler keepsakes such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle imitations or fakes . Just to be even much safer, make sure that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag licensing that it over at this website was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English Kurt Criter Denver or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. So be aware that an anonymous piece might still be indeed authentic.

A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now credible online galleries that also focus on authentic Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a excellent option for purchasing Inuit art because the rates are normally lower than those at street retail galleries. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one need to beware so when handling an online gallery, make certain that their pieces also come with the main Igloo tags to guarantee credibility.

Some traveler 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 shelves will look precisely like it.

This can be a genuine gray area to those unknown with genuine Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have details on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) rack within the store.


Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art form at galleries and museums situated 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 securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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