Tips on How 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 visiting the country. Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. Assuming that the intent is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler imitation, the question arises on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece just to discover later on that it isn't authentic or perhaps made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more mindful elsewhere in Canada, particularly in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The most safe locations to buy Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the reliable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other normal traveler mementos 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 might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art.

Some tourist shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore must have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is here are the findings a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it.

Where it ends up being harder to identify credibility are with the recreations 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 may even have some type of tag indicating that it was handcrafted however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are more than likely not authentic. If view a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that includes it which will know on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, move on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are usually kept in a different ( maybe even locked) rack within the store.


Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific 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 authentic. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also http://alexissmsi975.bravesites.com/tags/entries/kurt-criter-3 listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication 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 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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