Tips on How to Purchase and Look 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 traveler locations popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail stores and displayed at some museums. Since Inuit art has actually been getting a growing number of worldwide direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous travelers and art collectors to decide that they would like to purchase Inuit sculptures as great souvenirs for their homes or as very unique gifts for others. Assuming that the intent is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler replica, the question arises on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?

It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece just to find out 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 presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. 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 sold.

The safest places to purchase Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the reliable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. 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 typical traveler keepsakes such as postcards or t-shirts . 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 also have sites so you might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that likewise concentrate on genuine Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a good option for purchasing Inuit art because the costs are generally lower than those at street retail galleries. Of course, like other shopping on the internet, one must be careful so when handling an online gallery, ensure visit homepage that their pieces likewise come with the official Igloo tags to guarantee authenticity.

Some traveler shops do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types Kurt Criter of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason should have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the store shelves will look precisely like it.

This can be a real gray location 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 information on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the store.


Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. 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 assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trustworthy 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 however not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.