Tips on Ways To Purchase and Buy 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. These are the splendid handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some 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 numerous retail stores and showed at some museums. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to decide that they wish to acquire Inuit sculptures as good keepsakes for their houses or as really special presents for others. Assuming that the intention is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist imitation, the question occurs on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to discover later on that it isn't really genuine and 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 assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more mindful elsewhere in Canada, especially in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The most safe places to purchase Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are always the credible galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Credible Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be found in the downtown tourist locations of significant cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other typical traveler mementos such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle replicas or phonies . Simply to be even safer, make sure that the piece you have an interest in includes a Canadian federal https://www.pinterest.com/kurtcriter/ government Igloo tag licensing that it was handmade 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 anonymous piece might still be undoubtedly authentic.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.

Some tourist stores do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved 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 Kurt Criter absolutely nothing else on the store racks will look precisely like it.

This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are typically kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is special info fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reputable 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 however not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.