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



Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intention is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler replica, the question arises on how does one inform apart the real thing from the fakes?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out 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 terrific artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more mindful somewhere else in Canada, especially in tourist 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 offered.

The best places to purchase Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are constantly the reliable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be located in the downtown tourist areas of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other normal tourist souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle fakes or replicas . Just to be even much safer, ensure 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 may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Be mindful that an anonymous piece might still be certainly authentic.

A few of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the Kurt Criter world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that likewise focus on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a good option for buying Inuit art since the rates are normally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like any other shopping on the internet, one need to beware so when handling an online gallery, make sure that their pieces likewise come with the main Igloo tags to ensure credibility.

Some tourist shops do bring authentic 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 therefore should 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.

This can be a real gray area to those unknown with genuine Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have Kurt Criter Denver information on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are normally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the shop.


Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art type at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, 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 genuine. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also 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 home anywhere in the world.

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