Tips on How to Buy and Purchase Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the nation. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. Presuming that the intention is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist imitation, the question arises on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to learn later on that it isn't really 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 securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, particularly in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The safest locations to buy Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always the reliable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.

Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be found in the downtown tourist locations of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other normal tourist keepsakes such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle imitations or phonies . Simply to be even much safer, make sure that the piece you are interested in features a Canadian government Igloo tag licensing that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. So know that an unsigned piece might still be indeed authentic.

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

Some tourist stores do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason ought to have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the store shelves will look precisely like it.

Where it becomes harder to determine credibility are with the reproductions that are also made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may 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 authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that includes it which will know on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, move on. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are normally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic Kurt Criter where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also listed 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 but not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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