Tips on How 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 touring the country. Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art type at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Presuming that the objective is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler replica, the concern emerges on how does one inform apart the real thing from the phonies?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to find out later that it isn't really authentic 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 wonderful artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more mindful in other places in Canada, specifically in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The safest places to look for Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are always the respectable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other usual tourist souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed.

A few of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from Discover More house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that likewise concentrate on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a great option for buying Inuit art given that the prices are normally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Obviously, like other shopping on the internet, one need to take care so when handling an online gallery, ensure that their pieces likewise come with the official Igloo tags to ensure authenticity.

Some traveler stores do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted 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 absolutely nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely like it.

This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have details on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are typically kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) shelf within the shop.


Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely 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 go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.