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 visiting the nation. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. Presuming that the objective is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist replica, the question emerges on how does one tell apart the real thing from the phonies?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to learn later on that it isn't authentic or even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more careful in other places in Canada, specifically in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The best locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are constantly the respectable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

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

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Criter you could go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.

Some traveler shops do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore 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 store racks will look precisely like it.

Where it ends up being harder to identify credibility are with the reproductions that are likewise made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag indicating that it was handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not authentic. If a seller claims 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. Move on if the Igloo tag is not available. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are usually kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. 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 directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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