Tips on How to Buy and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring 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 some of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler locations popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and displayed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting a growing number of international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to choose that they want to purchase Inuit sculptures as nice mementos for their homes or as very special presents for others. Assuming that the objective is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost tourist imitation, the concern arises on how does one differentiate the real thing from the fakes?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to find out later on that it isn't genuine or even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, particularly in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The most safe locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are constantly the trustworthy galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Credible Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be located in the downtown tourist locations of significant cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other normal traveler mementos such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle phonies or imitations . Just to be even more secure, make sure that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian federal government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. So know that an anonymous piece may still be certainly genuine.

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

Some tourist shops do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes 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 nothing else on the store shelves will look precisely like it.

Where it ends up being harder to figure out authenticity are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag suggesting that it was handcrafted however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are more than likely not authentic. If a seller https://www.intelius.com/people/Kurt-Criter/Denver-CO/0C32VFMB3R7 declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will know on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, proceed. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a different ( possibly even locked) shelf within the store.


Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. 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 securely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reputable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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