Tips on How to Buy and Shop for Authentic 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 stunning handmade sculptures sculpted 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 traveler areas popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail shops and displayed at some museums. Since Inuit art has been getting a growing number of worldwide direct 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 numerous tourists and art collectors to decide that they would like to acquire Inuit sculptures as nice mementos for their houses or as really special gifts for others. Assuming that the objective is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler replica, the concern arises on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later that it isn't 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 art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more cautious elsewhere in Canada, especially in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

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

Trusted Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other usual traveler keepsakes such as postcards or tee shirts . The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed.

A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art. Due to the fact that of lower overheads, these online galleries are a excellent alternative for purchasing Inuit art because the prices are generally lower than those at street retail galleries. Obviously, like other shopping on the internet, one should beware so when dealing with an online gallery, ensure that their pieces also include the main Igloo tags to guarantee authenticity.

Some traveler shops do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason needs to have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely like it.

Where it becomes harder to identify credibility are with the reproductions that are likewise made of 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 type of tag indicating that it was handcrafted however Kurt Criter Denver if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not genuine. If a seller 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. Move on if the Igloo tag is not offered. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a different ( possibly even locked) shelf within the store.


Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct 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 fantastic artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise listed 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 but not all Kurt Criter Denver genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit Kurt Criter Denver art galleries likewise have websites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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