Tips on How to Buy and Look For Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures

Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intention is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler imitation, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the real thing from the phonies?

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

The best locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are constantly the reliable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be found in the downtown tourist locations of significant cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other normal traveler mementos such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with fakes or imitations . Simply to be even much safer, ensure that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian federal government Igloo tag licensing that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. So understand internet that an unsigned piece might still be indeed authentic.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art.

Some tourist shops do bring authentic 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 for that reason needs to have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely like it.

Where it becomes more difficult to determine credibility are with the recreations that are also made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag showing that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are more than likely not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, 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 offered, move on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are normally kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) rack within the shop.


Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums 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 straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated completely 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 likewise have sites so you might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.