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



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. Presuming that the intent is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler imitation, the concern occurs on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to discover 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 fantastic artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more mindful somewhere else in Canada, particularly in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The best locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to ensure 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.

Reliable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other usual traveler souvenirs such as postcards or t-shirts . 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 sites advice so you could go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that also concentrate on genuine Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a excellent option for buying Inuit art because 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 dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also come with the main Igloo tags to make sure credibility.

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

Where it ends up being more difficult to determine credibility are with the recreations that are also made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag indicating that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar 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, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not offered, move on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are normally kept in a separate ( possibly even locked) rack within the store.


Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art kind 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 terrific art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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