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



Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in a few of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist areas popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail stores and displayed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting increasingly more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian art type at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to choose that they want to purchase Inuit sculptures as nice mementos for their homes or as really special gifts for others. Assuming that the objective is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost traveler replica, the concern arises on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to learn later that it isn't authentic or perhaps made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be securely 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 cautious somewhere else in Canada, particularly in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The most safe places to purchase Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are constantly the reliable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Reputable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. 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 usual tourist souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture might 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 websites so you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street Kurt Criter Denver retail specialty galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that also concentrate on genuine Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a good choice for buying Inuit art since the rates are usually lower than those at street retail galleries. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one must be careful so when dealing with an online gallery, make certain that their pieces likewise include the main Igloo tags to ensure authenticity.

Some tourist stores do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic 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 art work and nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely like it.

This can be a real gray area to those unknown with authentic Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have info on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are generally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.


Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern shop Kurt Criter or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly https://www.manta.com/c/mmdg9st/vision-chemical-systems-inc publication which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might 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 sites so you might go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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