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



Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures sculpted 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 worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail shops and showed at some museums. Since Inuit art has been getting increasingly more worldwide exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries located 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 souvenirs for their houses or as very special presents for others. Assuming that the intention is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist imitation, the question develops on how does one tell apart the real thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to find out later on 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 securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more mindful in other places in Canada, especially in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The best locations to shop for Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always the reliable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be found in the downtown tourist locations of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other typical tourist mementos such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle phonies or imitations . Just to be even safer, make sure that the piece you have an interest in comes with 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 but not all authentic pieces are signed. So know that an unsigned piece may still be indeed genuine.

A few of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now credible online galleries that likewise concentrate Kurt Criter Denver on genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a great alternative for buying Inuit art since the rates are generally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like any other shopping on the internet, one should beware so when dealing with an online gallery, ensure that their pieces also come with the official Igloo tags to guarantee credibility.

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

Where it becomes harder to figure out credibility are with the reproductions that are likewise made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNxmDR0Lf7eKav0Z4XkSZcWl9N4D2c9qa art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag showing 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 authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features it which will know on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if the Igloo tag is not available. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are typically kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) rack within the store.


Because Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art form at galleries and museums 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 terrific art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed 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 however not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could shop and buy Kurt Criter Denver genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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