Tips on Ways To Buy and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in some of the significant 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 different retail shops and showed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting increasingly more global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of tourists and art collectors to decide that they wish to acquire Inuit sculptures as great mementos for their houses or as very special gifts for others. Assuming that the intent is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a inexpensive traveler imitation, the question develops on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later on that it isn't genuine and even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more mindful elsewhere in Canada, particularly in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The safest locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are constantly the credible galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Trusted Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be located in the downtown tourist areas of significant cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other typical tourist mementos such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with replicas or phonies . Just to be even much safer, make certain that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. So understand that an unsigned piece may still be indeed genuine.

A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that also focus on genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a excellent option for purchasing Inuit art given that the prices are typically lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one need to be careful so when handling an online gallery, ensure Kurt Criter Denver that their pieces also include the main Igloo tags to guarantee credibility.

Some tourist shops do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore must have some weight or mass to it. An genuine 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 real gray location to those unknown with genuine Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is Kurt Criter Denver authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have details on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are normally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.


Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art type 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 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 likewise noted 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 also have websites so you could shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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