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

Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the nation. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in a few of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler locations popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail shops and showed at some museums. Because Inuit art has actually been getting a growing number of global direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of travelers and art collectors to decide that they wish to acquire Inuit sculptures as good keepsakes for their houses or as really unique gifts for others. Assuming that the objective is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost traveler replica, the concern emerges on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later on that it isn't authentic or even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, particularly in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The safest locations to look for Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the trustworthy galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other usual tourist mementos such as t-shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture may 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 could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that also specialize in authentic 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 you can try these out tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore needs to have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture 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 real gray location to those unfamiliar with authentic 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 information on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are normally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the store.


Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums 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 art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted 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 genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.