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 magnificent handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in a few of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler areas popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail stores and showed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to choose that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as nice souvenirs for their homes or as really unique gifts for others. Assuming that the objective is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap tourist imitation, the concern arises on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to learn later that it isn't genuine or even 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 store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more cautious in other places in Canada, particularly in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The most safe locations to look for Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are always the respectable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other normal tourist keepsakes such as postcards or t-shirts . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that also focus on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a excellent option for buying Inuit art because the rates are generally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like other shopping on the internet, one should be careful so when dealing with an online gallery, make certain that their pieces also come with the main Igloo tags to guarantee authenticity.

Some traveler shops do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all kinds about his of tourists. When shopping at these types of shops, it is possible to tell apart the real pieces from the recreations. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason should have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also cold to the touch. A reproduction made from plastic Kurt Criter Denver or resin from a mold will be much lighter in weight and will not be cold to the touch. A reproduction will sometimes have a business name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never ever include an artist's signature. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the shop shelves will look Kurt Criter Denver exactly like it. The piece is not genuine if there are duplicates of a particular piece with specific information. If a piece looks too ideal in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides, it is probably not real. Obviously, if a piece features a sticker suggesting that is was made in an Asian country, then it is certainly a fake. There will likewise be a big cost difference in between authentic pieces and the replicas.

This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have info on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are usually kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) shelf within the store.


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great 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 safely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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