Tips on Ways To Buy and Look For Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in a few of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler locations popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail shops and showed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting a growing number of worldwide exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to decide that they wish to purchase Inuit sculptures as nice keepsakes for their homes or as really unique presents for others. Assuming that the intention is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost tourist replica, the concern occurs on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to learn later on 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 terrific artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, specifically in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The safest places to shop for Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are constantly the trustworthy galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other normal traveler keepsakes such as postcards or tee shirts . 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 websites so you might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art.

Some traveler stores do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore should 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 shop shelves will look precisely like it.

Where it becomes more difficult to figure out authenticity are with the reproductions that are likewise made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even Extra resources have some type of tag suggesting that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are most likely not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main 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 offered, move on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are usually kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.


Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be safely discover this presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely 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 likewise have sites so you might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *