Tips on How to Buy and Shop for Genuine 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 spectacular handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in a few of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist areas popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail shops and showed at some museums. Since Inuit art has been getting a growing number of global exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of tourists and art collectors to choose that they would like to purchase Inuit sculptures as good keepsakes for their houses or as really distinct presents for others. Presuming that the intent is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a inexpensive tourist imitation, the concern arises on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to learn later that it isn't really authentic or even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, especially in traveler locations 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 locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are constantly the reliable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Trusted Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be found in the downtown browse this site tourist locations of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other typical tourist keepsakes such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with imitations or fakes . Just to be even more secure, ensure that the piece you have an interest in includes a Canadian government Igloo tag accrediting 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 authentic pieces are signed. Be aware that an unsigned piece may still be indeed genuine.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Criter shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a excellent alternative for purchasing Inuit art since the costs are normally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like other shopping on the internet, one should be careful so when dealing with an online gallery, ensure that their pieces likewise include the main Igloo tags to ensure credibility.

Some traveler shops do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason ought to 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 racks will look precisely like it.

This can be a real gray area to those unknown with authentic Inuit art. If official statement a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have info on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are normally kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) shelf within the shop.


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great 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 wonderful art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely 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 likewise have websites so you could go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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