Tips on The Best Ways To Buy and Purchase 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. These are the splendid handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing 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 areas popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and displayed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting increasingly more global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to choose that they want to purchase Inuit sculptures as good mementos for their houses or as very unique gifts for others. Presuming that the intent is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost tourist imitation, the question develops on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later that it isn't authentic or perhaps made in Canada. 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 safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, specifically in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

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

Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally 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 possibly Native art but none of the other usual traveler souvenirs such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle imitations or phonies . Simply to be even much safer, make certain that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian federal government Igloo tag certifying that it was handcrafted by 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. So understand that an anonymous piece may still be certainly genuine.

Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.

Some traveler shops 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 ought to have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the store shelves will look precisely like it.

Where it becomes harder to figure out authenticity are with the reproductions that are likewise made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag suggesting 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 claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with 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 different (perhaps even locked) rack within the shop.


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art kind 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 terrific art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted 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 you can try these out so you might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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