Tips on How 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 country. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Presuming that the objective is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler imitation, the concern occurs on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?

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

The safest locations to look for Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are constantly the trustworthy galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres completely to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be located 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 but none of the other normal tourist mementos such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with replicas or phonies . Just to be even safer, make sure that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian federal government Igloo tag licensing that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Be aware that an unsigned piece may still be undoubtedly authentic.

Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that also focus on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a excellent alternative for buying Inuit art given that the rates are typically lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like other shopping on the internet, one must take care so when handling an online gallery, make sure that their pieces likewise feature the main Igloo tags to ensure credibility.

Some traveler shops do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason ought 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 shelves will look precisely like it.

This can be a real gray area to those unknown with genuine Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are usually kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the store.


Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one visit is fortunate 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 genuine. Reputable Inuit art galleries are also noted 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 however not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.