Tips on Ways To Purchase and Look For Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in a few of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler areas popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail stores and displayed at some museums. Because Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous tourists and art collectors to choose that they want to buy Inuit sculptures as nice souvenirs for their homes or as really distinct gifts for others. Presuming that the objective is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler imitation, the question emerges on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to find out later that it isn't really authentic and even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more mindful elsewhere in Canada, specifically in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The most safe locations to buy Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the trusted galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be found in the downtown tourist areas of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other normal traveler souvenirs such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with fakes or imitations . Just to be even much safer, ensure that the piece you have an interest in features a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was handcrafted by Kurt Criter a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Be conscious that an unsigned piece might still be indeed genuine.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are http://journals.oregondigital.org/index.php/OURJ/user/viewPublicProfile/5504 now reliable online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art.

Some traveler stores do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason must have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the store shelves will look precisely like it.

This can be a genuine gray area to those unknown with genuine 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 details on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are usually kept in a different ( possibly even locked) shelf within the store.


Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might 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 websites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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