Tips on The Best Ways To Buy and Purchase Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. These are the stunning handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living 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 locations popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail shops and showed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting a growing number of worldwide exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of tourists and art collectors to choose that they wish to acquire Inuit sculptures as good keepsakes for their houses or as really unique presents for others. Presuming that the objective is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a inexpensive traveler replica, the question emerges on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later on that it isn't genuine or even made in Canada. If one is fortunate 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 purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more mindful elsewhere in Canada, especially in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The best places to purchase Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are constantly the credible 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.

Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be found in the downtown traveler great post to read locations of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other normal traveler mementos such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with fakes or replicas . Just to be even more secure, make certain that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag licensing that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. So know that an anonymous piece might still be undoubtedly genuine.

Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now credible online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art.

Some traveler shops 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 sculpted from stone and for that reason should have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it.

Where it becomes harder to figure out credibility are with the recreations that are also made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag showing that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that features it which will have information on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying Kurt Criter Denver official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are normally kept in a separate ( possibly even locked) rack within the store.


Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art form 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 terrific artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated 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 sites so you could shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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