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

Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. Presuming that the objective is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist imitation, the concern emerges on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to discover later that it isn't really genuine 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 fantastic art work, then it can be safely 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 in other places in Canada, particularly in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The safest places to shop for Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are constantly the respectable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.

Reputable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres totally to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be found in the downtown tourist locations of significant cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other typical tourist mementos such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with imitations or fakes . Simply to be even safer, ensure that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian federal government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. So understand that an unsigned piece might still be indeed authentic.

Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now credible online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art.

Some tourist shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason 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.

Where it becomes more difficult to figure out credibility are with the recreations that are also made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag showing that it was handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are probably not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that includes it which will know on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, carry on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are normally kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.


Because Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate 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 acquired from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated completely 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 visit art galleries also have informative post sites so you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.