Tips on Ways To Purchase and Look For Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures

Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art type at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Presuming that the objective is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist replica, the concern develops on how does one inform apart the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to discover later that it isn't authentic and even made in Canada. If one is lucky 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 local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious in other places in Canada, specifically in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The most safe locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the reliable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally 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 typical traveler keepsakes such as tee 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 also have sites so you might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now credible online galleries that likewise concentrate on genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a good alternative for buying Inuit art considering that the costs are typically lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like any other shopping on the internet, one need to beware so when handling an online gallery, make certain that their pieces also feature the official Igloo tags to make sure authenticity.

Some traveler shops do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types Kurt Criter Denver of travelers. Genuine 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 nothing else on the store racks will look exactly like it.

This can be a real gray area to those unknown with genuine Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have info on the artist, location 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 usually kept in a different ( possibly even locked) rack within the shop.


Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely 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 could go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.