Tips on Ways To Buy and Shop for Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intent is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist replica, the question develops on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to learn later on that it isn't really authentic or perhaps made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more careful in other places in Canada, specifically in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The safest locations to buy Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are constantly the reliable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Trustworthy 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 just Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other normal tourist keepsakes such as t-shirts or postcards . 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 likewise have websites 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 credible online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art.

Some traveler moved here shops do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore must have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely like it.

Where it becomes more difficult to figure out authenticity are with the reproductions 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 might 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 claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features it which will have information on the artist, place 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 authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are normally kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.


Because Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art type at museums and galleries 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 fantastic art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise look these up noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. 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 sites so you might go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

Leave a Reply

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