Tips on The Best Ways To Purchase and Buy Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures

Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art type at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. Presuming that the intent is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler replica, the concern arises on how does one inform apart the real thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to discover later on that it isn't genuine and even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, especially in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The best places to look for Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are always the credible galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres completely to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be located in the downtown tourist locations of significant cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other normal tourist keepsakes such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with replicas or phonies . Simply to be even safer, make certain that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag licensing that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. So know that an anonymous piece might still be undoubtedly authentic.

A click few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a excellent alternative for buying Inuit art considering that the rates are generally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like other shopping on the internet, one need to be careful so when handling an online gallery, make sure that their pieces likewise include the official Igloo tags to ensure credibility.

Some traveler shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved 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 shop shelves will look exactly like it.

This can be a real gray location to those unknown with genuine 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 info on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are usually kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.


Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky 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 presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also listed 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 however not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.