Tips on How to Purchase and Look For Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. Assuming that the intent is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler replica, the concern arises on how does one inform apart the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to find out later on that it isn't 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 art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more careful in other places in Canada, especially 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 locations to shop for Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are constantly the respectable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres totally to Inuit art. These galleries will typically 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 possibly Native art but none of the other typical tourist keepsakes such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just genuine 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 are interested in features a Canadian government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Be conscious that an unsigned piece might still be indeed authentic.

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

Some tourist stores do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore must 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 shop racks will look precisely like it.

Where it becomes harder to figure out credibility are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind 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 genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, location 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 generally kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) rack more tips here within the store.


Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art type 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 wonderful art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store 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 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 likewise have sites so you might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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