Tips on How to Buy and Buy 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 worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art type at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intention is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost tourist imitation, the question emerges on how does one inform apart the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to learn later that it isn't really genuine or perhaps made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be securely presumed 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 cautious elsewhere in Canada, particularly in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The most safe places to shop for Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always the reliable galleries that focus on 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 noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be found in the downtown tourist locations of significant cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other typical tourist keepsakes such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with fakes or imitations . Simply to be even much safer, make sure that the piece you are interested in features a Canadian government Igloo tag licensing that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. Be mindful that an unsigned piece may still be certainly genuine.

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. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a good alternative for purchasing Inuit art since the prices are normally lower Kurt Criter than those at street retail galleries. Obviously, like any other shopping on the internet, one should be careful so when dealing with an online gallery, ensure that their pieces likewise come with the main Igloo tags to guarantee authenticity.

Some traveler stores do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason must have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the store racks will look exactly like it.

Where it becomes more difficult to figure out credibility are with the reproductions that are likewise made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag suggesting that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are probably not genuine. If a seller declares that such as Kurt Criter piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that features it which will have information on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, move on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are normally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within browse around these guys the shop.


Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. 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 could go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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