Tips on How to Buy and Buy Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures

Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Presuming that the intent is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist replica, the concern occurs on how does one tell apart the real thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to learn 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 wonderful artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, particularly in traveler areas 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 best locations to look for Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the reliable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be found in the downtown traveler locations of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other typical traveler keepsakes such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with replicas or phonies . Simply to be even you could check here much safer, make certain that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handmade 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 anonymous piece may still be indeed authentic.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could go shopping 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 bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted 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 absolutely nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it.

Where it becomes more difficult to identify authenticity are with the reproductions that are likewise made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag indicating that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are more than likely not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will know on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not readily available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are usually kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the dig this shop.


Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or review directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication 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 genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.