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



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. These are the splendid handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail stores and showed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more global 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 lots of travelers and art collectors to decide that they want to acquire Inuit sculptures as good souvenirs for their homes or as extremely distinct presents for others. Presuming that the intention is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost traveler imitation, the question occurs on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to learn 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 terrific art work, 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 genuine. One would have to be more mindful in other places in Canada, specifically in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The best places to buy Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are constantly the trusted galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Respectable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art site here and perhaps Native art however none of the other usual traveler souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture may 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 also have sites so you could go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that also concentrate on authentic Inuit art. Due to the fact that of lower overheads, these online galleries are a good choice for purchasing Inuit art since the costs are generally lower than those at street retail galleries. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one should be careful so when handling an online gallery, ensure that their pieces likewise feature the main Igloo tags to make sure credibility.

Some tourist shops do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason should have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the shop racks will look precisely like it.

Where it ends up being harder to figure out authenticity are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may 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 probably not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that features it which will know on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, carry on. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a different ( maybe even locked) shelf within the store.


Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries located 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 art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine 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 authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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