Tips on Ways To Purchase and Purchase 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 sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists residing 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 tourist locations popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and showed at some museums. Since Inuit art has been getting a growing number of worldwide exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous tourists and art collectors to choose that they would like to acquire Inuit sculptures as good keepsakes for their houses or as really unique gifts for others. Presuming that the intent is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap traveler imitation, the question emerges on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to find out later that it isn't really genuine or even made in Canada. 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 assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more cautious in other places in Canada, specifically in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The most safe locations to look for Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the respectable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Credible Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will click to read be just Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other usual tourist souvenirs 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.

A few of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a excellent choice for buying Inuit art given that the prices are usually lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one must take care so when handling an online gallery, make certain that their pieces likewise come with the main Igloo tags to guarantee authenticity.

Some traveler shops do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason needs to have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the store shelves will look precisely like it.

Where it becomes more difficult to identify credibility are with the recreations that are likewise 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 comparable in detail, they are most likely not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that features it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not offered. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are typically kept in a different ( maybe even locked) shelf within the shop.


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people might 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 terrific 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 also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may 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 shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

Leave a Reply

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