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



Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in a few 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 various retail shops and displayed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting increasingly more global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to decide that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as good keepsakes for their houses or as very unique presents for others. Assuming that the intention is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler replica, the concern arises on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to learn later on that it isn't authentic and even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more mindful elsewhere in Canada, particularly in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The best locations to shop for Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the trusted galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be found in the downtown traveler locations of significant cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other normal tourist keepsakes such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle imitations or fakes wikipedia reference . Just to be even much safer, make sure that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Be aware that an anonymous piece might still be undoubtedly genuine.

Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art.

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

Where it ends up being 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 may even have some type of tag showing that it was handcrafted however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not authentic. 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, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not available, proceed. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are generally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.


Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. 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 securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted 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 could go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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