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



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Presuming that the objective is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler replica, the concern emerges on how does one inform apart the real thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn't really authentic and 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 art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, particularly in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The safest places to shop for Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are constantly the reliable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres completely to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be found in the downtown traveler locations of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other normal tourist mementos such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with replicas or phonies . Just to be even safer, ensure that the piece you have an interest in features a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Be conscious that an unsigned piece may still be indeed genuine.

Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that also focus on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a good alternative for purchasing Inuit art considering that the costs are generally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Obviously, like other shopping on the internet, one should be careful so when handling an online gallery, ensure that their pieces also feature the official Igloo tags to ensure credibility.

Some tourist shops do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of https://medium.com/@kurtcriter 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 art work and nothing else on the store racks will look precisely like it.

This can be a real gray area to those unknown with authentic Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo important source tag that comes with it which will have details on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are normally kept in a different ( possibly even locked) rack within the shop.


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art type 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 wonderful art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reputable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication 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 authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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