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

Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in some of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler locations popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail stores and showed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting increasingly more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous tourists and art collectors to choose that they want to acquire Inuit sculptures as nice mementos for their houses or as very special presents for others. Assuming that the intention is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler imitation, the question develops on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to learn later on that it isn't really genuine and 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 bought from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, particularly in traveler 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 sold.

The best places to shop for Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are constantly the credible galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Credible Inuit art galleries are also listed 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 only Inuit art and perhaps check Native art however none of the other normal tourist mementos such as postcards or t-shirts . 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 also have websites so you could shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art.

Some tourist stores do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore must have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture Bonuses is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the store racks will look exactly 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 official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are typically kept in a different ( maybe even locked) shelf within the store.


Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian Kurt Criter fine art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trusted Inuit art galleries are also noted 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 not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.