Tips on How to Buy and Look For Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. Presuming that the objective is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist replica, the concern develops on how does one inform apart the real thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to find out later on that it isn't genuine or 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 safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, specifically in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The safest locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are constantly the trusted galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.

Reliable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be found 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 perhaps Native art however none of the other usual tourist keepsakes such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle replicas or fakes . Simply to be even more secure, make sure that the piece you are interested in includes a Canadian federal government Igloo tag certifying that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics Kurt Criter Denver but not all authentic pieces are signed. So understand that an unsigned piece might still be undoubtedly genuine.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that also concentrate on authentic Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a good choice for purchasing Inuit art since the prices are usually lower than those at street retail galleries. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one must beware so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also include the official Igloo tags to guarantee credibility.

Some tourist stores do carry 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 needs to have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the store racks will look precisely like it.

Where it ends up being harder to identify credibility are with the reproductions that are also made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag suggesting that it was handcrafted 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 official Igloo tag that includes it which will know on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not offered, move on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are typically kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the store.


Because Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind 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 terrific artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reputable 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 home Kurt Criter anywhere in the world.

Leave a Reply

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