Tips on Ways To Purchase 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. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Assuming that the objective is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist imitation, the question arises on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to discover later that it isn't really genuine 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 art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, especially in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The best places to purchase Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are always the trusted galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be found in the downtown tourist areas of major cities. 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 keepsakes such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with fakes or imitations . Simply to be even much safer, make certain that the piece you are interested in includes a Canadian government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in Kurt Criter English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. So understand that an unsigned piece might still be indeed genuine.

A few of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that also concentrate on authentic Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a good choice for purchasing Inuit art since the prices are normally lower than those at street retail galleries. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one must be careful so when dealing with an online gallery, make certain that their pieces also include the main Igloo tags to make sure authenticity.

Some traveler shops do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore should 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 shop racks will look exactly like it.

Where it becomes harder to identify authenticity are with the recreations that are likewise made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag indicating 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 declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will know on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not available, move on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are normally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the shop.


Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise noted 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 likewise have websites so you could 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 *