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



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. These are the stunning handmade sculptures carved 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 areas popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and displayed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting increasingly more international exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous travelers and art collectors to choose that they want to purchase Inuit sculptures as nice mementos for their homes or as really distinct presents for others. Assuming that the objective is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist imitation, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to discover later on that it isn't authentic or even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, particularly in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The best places to purchase Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are constantly the respectable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres completely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be found in the downtown traveler locations of significant cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other usual traveler mementos such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle fakes or replicas . Simply to be even much safer, make sure that the piece you are interested in includes a Canadian federal government Igloo tag certifying that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. So know that an unsigned piece might still be undoubtedly authentic.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art.

Some tourist shops do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore should have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it.

Where it becomes more difficult to determine credibility are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag indicating that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are probably not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features it which will have information on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not available, useful content proceed. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the store.


Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums 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 wonderful art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally 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 likewise have websites so you could go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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