Tips on 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 visiting the country. Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. Presuming that the intention is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist replica, the concern occurs on how does one inform apart the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to discover later on that it isn't really authentic or perhaps made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific 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 authentic. One would have to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, specifically in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The best locations to buy Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are constantly the credible galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other usual traveler souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed.

A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that also concentrate on genuine Inuit art. Because of lower overheads, these online galleries are a good alternative for buying Inuit art since the prices are typically lower than those at street retail galleries. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one need to take care so when dealing with an online gallery, ensure that their pieces also include the main Igloo tags to guarantee authenticity.

Some tourist stores do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs 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 store shelves will look precisely 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 official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are typically kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the store.


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be discover here taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make blog their terrific art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely 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 likewise have sites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.