Tips on The Best Ways To Purchase and Look For Genuine 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 magnificent 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 tourist areas popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail shops and showed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting a growing number of global exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to decide that they would like to acquire Inuit sculptures as good mementos for their homes or as very distinct presents for others. Assuming that the intent is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler imitation, the concern occurs on how does one tell apart the real thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to find out 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 art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, especially in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The safest locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are constantly the trusted galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.

Reputable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other normal tourist mementos such as tee shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed.

Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could go shopping and purchase 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 focus on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a great alternative for purchasing Inuit art considering that the rates are typically lower than those at street retail https://soundcloud.com/kurt-criter galleries because of lower overheads. Obviously, like any other shopping on the internet, one need to take care so when dealing with an online gallery, make certain that their pieces also come with the main Igloo tags to ensure credibility.

Some traveler stores do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason must 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 store racks will look precisely like it.

This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine 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, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.


Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries located 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 safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or directly click to find out more from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. 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 websites so you could go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.