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

Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. These are the stunning 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 traveler 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 actually been getting a growing number of international direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous tourists and art collectors to decide that they would like to purchase Inuit sculptures as great souvenirs for their houses or as very special gifts for others. Presuming that the intent is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost traveler imitation, the question develops on how does one differentiate the real thing from the fakes?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to discover later on that it isn't really authentic or perhaps made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more mindful somewhere else in Canada, especially in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The most safe places to look for Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are always the trustworthy galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Reliable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication Kurt Criter which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be found in the downtown traveler locations of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other typical traveler mementos such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle replicas or fakes . Simply to be even much safer, ensure that the piece you have an interest in includes a Canadian federal government Igloo tag licensing that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. So know that an unsigned piece might still be undoubtedly authentic.

Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.

Some tourist shops do bring 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 for that reason should have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it.

This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic 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 details on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are usually kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) shelf within the shop.


Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art type 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 wonderful artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely 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 sites so you might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.