Tips on How to Buy and Look For Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures

Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. Assuming that the intention is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler replica, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to find out later that it isn't genuine or perhaps made in Canada. 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 regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, specifically in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The best places to buy Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are always the respectable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be located 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 however none of the other normal traveler mementos such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle replicas or phonies . Simply to be even more secure, make certain that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian 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 however not all authentic pieces are signed. So be aware that an anonymous piece may still be undoubtedly authentic.

A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise Continued have websites so you might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art. Due to the fact that of lower overheads, these online galleries are a great choice for purchasing Inuit art because the costs are usually lower than those at street retail galleries. Obviously, like any other shopping on the internet, one need to be careful so when handling an online gallery, make certain that their pieces also come with the official Igloo tags to make sure authenticity.

Some tourist stores do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore ought to have some weight or mass look what i found 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 real gray location to those unfamiliar 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, area where it was made and the year it was carved. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are normally kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) shelf within the shop.


Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable 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 but not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also visit here have websites so you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.