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



Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living 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 areas popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail stores and showed at some museums. Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous tourists and art collectors to decide that they want to buy Inuit sculptures as nice mementos for their houses or as extremely distinct presents for others. Presuming that the intent is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost tourist replica, the concern occurs on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later that it isn't really authentic and 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 terrific artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, specifically in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The best locations to buy Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are constantly the reliable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise listed 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 just Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other usual traveler souvenirs such as postcards or t-shirts . The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic 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 specialty galleries, there are now credible online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.

Some traveler stores do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore must have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it.

Where it becomes more difficult to identify credibility are with the recreations that are likewise made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some type of tag indicating that it was handcrafted however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are more than likely not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that features it which will know on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not readily available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are normally kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) shelf within the shop.


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art type 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 wonderful artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Continued Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *