Tips on How to Purchase 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 touring the country. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the major 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. Given that Inuit art has been getting a growing number of worldwide direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of travelers and art collectors to decide that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as great keepsakes for their houses or as really unique presents for others. Assuming that the objective is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler imitation, the question develops on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to discover later that it isn't genuine or perhaps made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling 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 local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, specifically in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The most safe locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are constantly the reliable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.

Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. 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 typical tourist 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 likewise have sites so you might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere Kurt Criter in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.

Some tourist shops do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore must have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it.

This can be a real gray location to those unknown with authentic Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, area where it my company was made and the year it was carved. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are normally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.


Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art kind at galleries and museums 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 fantastic art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may 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 websites so you could shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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