Tips on The Best Ways To Buy and Purchase Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures

Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. Presuming that the intent is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist replica, the question emerges on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to find out later on that it isn't authentic or perhaps made in Canada. 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 safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more mindful elsewhere in Canada, especially in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The best places to shop for Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are always the credible galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Trusted Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be found in the downtown traveler areas of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other normal traveler keepsakes such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with fakes or replicas . Simply to be even safer, make certain that the piece you have an interest in includes a Canadian government Igloo tag accrediting 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 be aware that an unsigned piece may still be certainly authentic.

Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a excellent alternative for purchasing Inuit art since the rates are generally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like any other shopping on the internet, one should beware so when handling an online gallery, make sure that their pieces likewise come with the official Igloo tags to guarantee credibility.

Some traveler stores do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason should 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 shelves will look precisely like it.

Where it becomes more difficult to determine authenticity are with the recreations 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 may even have some kind of tag showing 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 claims 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. Move on if the Igloo tag is not readily available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are generally kept in a different i was reading this ( maybe even locked) rack within the store.


Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reputable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. The browse around these guys 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 sites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.