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



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the nation. These are the stunning handmade sculptures sculpted 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 traveler areas popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail stores and displayed at some museums. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian art kind at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous travelers and art collectors to choose that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as nice mementos for their homes or as very special gifts for others. Presuming that the intent is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost traveler 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 only to discover later on that it isn't really genuine and even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be safely 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 careful elsewhere in Canada, specifically in traveler 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 sold.

The best locations to shop for Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are always the respectable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Reputable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other typical traveler keepsakes such as t-shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed.

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

Some traveler shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason should 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 store racks will look exactly like it.

Where it becomes more difficult to figure out authenticity are with the recreations that are also made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag suggesting that it was handmade however 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 click to investigate piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not offered. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are usually kept in a separate ( possibly even locked) rack within the shop.


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art Kurt Criter Denver piece bought from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may 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 sites so you could go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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