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



Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the nation. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in some of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail shops and showed at some museums. Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of tourists and art collectors to decide that they would like to purchase Inuit sculptures as great keepsakes for their houses or as very distinct gifts for others. Presuming that the intent is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a inexpensive tourist replica, the concern occurs on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later on that it isn't authentic 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 safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more mindful elsewhere in Canada, especially in traveler 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 offered.

The best locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are always the reputable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Reputable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally 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 perhaps Native art but none of the other normal traveler souvenirs such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with imitations or phonies . Simply to be even safer, make certain that the piece you have an interest in features a Canadian federal government Igloo tag licensing that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. Be mindful that an anonymous piece may still be indeed authentic.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now credible online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.

Some tourist stores do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore ought to have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely like it.

This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have info on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are normally kept in a different ( possibly even locked) rack within the store.


Because Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip 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 bought from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise see here now noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. The Kurt Criter Inuit sculpture might 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 could go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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