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



Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. These are the splendid handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing 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 areas popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail stores and displayed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian art kind at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of travelers and art collectors to choose that they would like to purchase Inuit sculptures as good mementos for their houses or as really special presents for others. Presuming that the intention is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost tourist imitation, the question arises on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later on that it isn't really 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 fantastic artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more careful in other places in Canada, specifically in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The safest locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the trusted galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.

Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be located in the downtown traveler areas of significant cities. 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 normal tourist keepsakes such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for the original source sale as they do not handle replicas or fakes . Just to be even much safer, make certain that the piece you are interested in includes a Canadian federal government Igloo tag certifying 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 genuine pieces are signed. Be conscious that an anonymous piece might still be indeed genuine.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a great choice for buying Inuit art considering that the costs are usually lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like other shopping on the internet, one should beware so when dealing with an online gallery, make certain that their pieces likewise include the official Igloo tags to make sure credibility.

Some traveler stores do bring 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 genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a go to my site kind piece of art work and nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it.

Where it ends up being more difficult to identify authenticity are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and might special info even have some kind of tag showing that it was handcrafted however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are most likely not authentic. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not offered, 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.


Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art form 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 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 genuine. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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