Tips on How to Buy and Purchase Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. Assuming that the intent is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler 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 only to discover later that it isn't really authentic and even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, especially in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The best places to look for Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are constantly the reputable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.

Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be found in the downtown tourist locations of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other normal traveler mementos such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle replicas or fakes . Just to be even safer, make certain that the piece you have an interest in includes a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit official source syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Be aware that an anonymous piece might still be undoubtedly authentic.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.

Some tourist stores do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine 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 art work and nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it.

This can be a genuine gray area to those unknown with authentic Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have details on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are typically kept in a separate ( possibly even locked) shelf within the store.


Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trusted Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated 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 sites so you could go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit find more info art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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