Tips on The Best 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 country. These are the stunning handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in a few of the significant 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. Since Inuit art has been getting increasingly more international direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to decide that they want to buy Inuit sculptures as nice souvenirs for their houses or as very special presents for others. Assuming that the objective is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost tourist imitation, the concern arises on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to learn later that it isn't really 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 fantastic 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 have to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, particularly in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The best locations to buy Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always the trusted galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be located in the downtown tourist locations of significant cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other normal tourist mementos such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle phonies or replicas . Simply to be even more secure, ensure that the piece you have an interest in includes a Canadian federal government Igloo tag certifying 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 understand that an anonymous piece may still be certainly authentic.

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 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNxmDR0Lf7eKav0Z4XkSZcWl9N4D2c9qa world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art.

Some tourist stores do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore needs to have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely 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 main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are typically kept in a separate ( possibly even locked) rack within the shop.


Because Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trusted Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but over here not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.