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



Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Presuming that the intention is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler imitation, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the real thing from the phonies?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn't really genuine or even made in Canada. If one is lucky 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 shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, especially in traveler areas 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 look for Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are always the credible galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be located in the downtown tourist areas of significant cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other typical 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 . Simply to be even much safer, ensure that the piece you have an interest in includes a Canadian government Igloo tag accrediting 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 authentic pieces are signed. So know that an unsigned piece may still be indeed genuine.

Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now credible online galleries that also concentrate on genuine Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a great alternative for buying Inuit art given that the prices are typically lower than those at street retail galleries. Obviously, like other shopping on the internet, one need to take care so when handling an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also feature the official Igloo tags to ensure credibility.

Some tourist stores do bring authentic 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 therefore must have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the shop shelves will look exactly like it.

Where it becomes harder to identify authenticity are with the recreations that are also made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag showing that it was handmade http://kurtcriter.brandyourself.com/Links but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are more than likely not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will know on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not offered, carry on. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are typically kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the shop.


Because Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. The 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 shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home Kurt Criter Denver anywhere in the world.

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