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



Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. These are the stunning handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and showed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting increasingly more international exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian art form at galleries and museums located 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 good keepsakes for their homes or as very distinct gifts for others. Presuming that the intent is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap traveler imitation, the concern arises on how does one differentiate the real thing from the fakes?

It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece just to find out later 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 wonderful artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, especially in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The best places to look for Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the credible galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Reputable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other usual tourist keepsakes such as t-shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed.

Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that also concentrate on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries Kurt Criter Denver are a excellent alternative for buying Inuit art because the prices are usually lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like other shopping on the internet, one must take care so when dealing with an online gallery, ensure that their pieces likewise come with the main Igloo tags to make sure credibility.

Some tourist stores do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason needs to have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the shop racks will look precisely like it.

Where it becomes more difficult to determine authenticity are with the recreations that are also made from stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag indicating that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are more than likely not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that includes it which will know on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, carry on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are usually kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.


Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind 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 fantastic artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art imp source piece acquired from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally 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 likewise have sites so you could go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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