Tips on Ways 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 touring the country. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. Assuming that the intention is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler replica, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the real thing from the phonies?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later that it isn't really authentic or even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific 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 genuine. One would have to be more mindful somewhere else in Canada, particularly in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The most safe places to purchase Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are always the trustworthy galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Reliable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. 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 typical tourist mementos such as postcards or t-shirts . 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 websites so you might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.

Some tourist stores do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore should have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the store racks will look exactly like it.

Where it ends up being harder to determine credibility are with the reproductions that are likewise 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 type of tag suggesting that it was handcrafted however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not authentic. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes Kurt Criter with it which will have information on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if the Igloo tag is not offered. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a different ( maybe even locked) rack within the store.


Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally 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 likewise have websites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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