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



Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the nation. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in a few of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail shops and showed at some museums. Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to choose that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as good keepsakes for their homes or as very distinct presents for others. Presuming that the intent is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler replica, the concern emerges on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to learn later on that it isn't authentic or perhaps made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more mindful elsewhere in Canada, particularly in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

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

Respectable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other normal traveler souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed.

A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that likewise concentrate on genuine Inuit art. Because of lower overheads, these online galleries are a good alternative for buying Inuit art considering that the costs are generally lower than those at street retail galleries. Obviously, like any other shopping on the internet, one need to be careful so when handling an online gallery, make certain that their pieces also feature the main Igloo http://alexissmsi975.bravesites.com/tags/entries/kurt-criter-3 tags to ensure authenticity.

Some traveler shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine 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 racks will look exactly like it.

Where it ends up being harder to determine authenticity are with the reproductions that are likewise made from stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag suggesting that it was handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are explanation most likely not authentic. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will know on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not offered, proceed. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) rack within the shop.


Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. If one is fortunate 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 purchased from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

Leave a Reply

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