Tips on Ways To Purchase and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. These are the splendid handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with global 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 more and more international exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous travelers and art collectors to choose that they want to buy Inuit sculptures as good souvenirs for their houses or as really distinct presents for others. Assuming that the intention is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost traveler replica, the question develops on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to discover later on that it isn't really 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 fantastic art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more cautious elsewhere in Canada, particularly in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The safest places to shop for Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the respectable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other usual traveler mementos such as t-shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine 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. 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 shop visit homepage racks will look exactly like it.

Where it ends up being harder to determine credibility are with the recreations that are also made from stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some type of tag suggesting that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are more than likely not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that features it which will know on the artist, Kurt Criter area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not available. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are normally kept in a different ( maybe even locked) shelf within the store.


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries situated 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 art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might 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 authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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