Tips on How to Buy and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the nation. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Assuming that the objective is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler replica, the concern arises on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece just to learn later on that it isn't 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 artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, especially in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The safest places to purchase Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the respectable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be found in the downtown tourist locations of significant cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other usual tourist mementos such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle phonies or imitations . Simply to be even more secure, ensure that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian federal government Igloo tag certifying that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. Be mindful that an unsigned piece might still be undoubtedly authentic.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that also focus on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries my blog are a good choice for purchasing Inuit art because the rates are typically lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one must beware so when dealing with an online gallery, ensure that their pieces also feature the main Igloo tags to ensure authenticity.

Some traveler shops do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore ought to have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it.

Where it ends up being more difficult to determine credibility are with the reproductions that are also made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. Kurt Criter Denver They do have mass and may even have some type of tag showing that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are most likely not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that includes it which will know on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, proceed. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo Kurt Criter tags will constantly be the highest priced and are usually kept in a different ( maybe even locked) shelf within the shop.


Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries 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 wonderful artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated entirely 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 might go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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