Tips on Ways To Buy and Purchase Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures

Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the nation. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures carved 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 tourist areas popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail stores and showed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to decide that they wish to purchase Inuit sculptures as nice keepsakes for their homes or as really distinct gifts for others. Assuming that the intention is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler replica, the question develops on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to learn later on that it isn't 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 wonderful art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, especially in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

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

Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be found in the downtown tourist locations of significant cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other usual traveler keepsakes such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle phonies or imitations . Simply to be even safer, make sure that the piece you are interested More about the author in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag licensing that it was handmade 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 aware that an unsigned piece might still be undoubtedly genuine.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites 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 reputable online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art.

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

This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have details on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the Extra resources highest priced and are generally kept in a separate ( possibly even locked) shelf within the shop.


Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trusted Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might 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 sites so you might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.