Tips on Ways To Purchase and Look For Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Assuming that the objective is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost tourist imitation, the concern arises on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to learn later on that it isn't authentic 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 artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious in other places in Canada, especially in traveler 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 offered.

The safest locations to look for Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are always the trusted galleries that concentrate on 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 noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be located in the downtown tourist areas of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other usual tourist souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with imitations or fakes . Simply to be even more secure, make sure that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian federal government Igloo tag licensing that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. So understand that an unsigned piece may still be undoubtedly genuine.

Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could shop and buy 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 Kurt Criter Denver in genuine 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. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason must have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely like it.

Where it becomes harder to figure out authenticity are with the recreations that are also made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag indicating that it was handmade however 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 authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features it which will know on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not available, carry on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are usually kept in a separate ( possibly even locked) rack within the shop.


Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art kind 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 wonderful artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally 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 likewise have websites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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