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



Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intent is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist imitation, the concern arises on how does one inform apart the real thing from the fakes?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to learn later that it isn't authentic or perhaps made in Canada. 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 securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more cautious in other places in Canada, especially in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The best locations to shop for Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are constantly the trustworthy galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres completely to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be found in the downtown traveler locations of significant 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 normal traveler keepsakes such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle imitations or phonies . Just to be even safer, make sure that the piece you are interested in features a Canadian federal government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handcrafted 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. Be conscious that an anonymous piece might still be undoubtedly authentic.

A few of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that likewise focus on genuine Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a great choice for purchasing Inuit art since the rates are generally lower than those at street retail galleries. Obviously, like any other shopping on the internet, one should take care so when dealing with an online gallery, ensure that their pieces also feature the official Igloo tags to ensure credibility.

Some traveler shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore should have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the store racks will look exactly like it.

Where it becomes harder to identify authenticity are with the recreations that are also made from stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those not familiar with authentic 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 similar in detail, they are more than likely not authentic. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features it which will know on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if the Igloo tag is not available. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are typically kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the store.


Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art form https://www.buzzfeed.com/kurtcriter 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 wonderful art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine 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 also have websites so you might go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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