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

Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. Assuming that the objective is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist imitation, the question 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 learn later that it isn't genuine 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 wonderful artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more mindful elsewhere in Canada, particularly in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The best places to buy Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are constantly the reputable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Credible Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other usual traveler mementos such as postcards or tee shirts . 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 websites so you could go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a good choice for buying Inuit art considering that the costs visit are typically lower than those at street retail galleries. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one should take care so when handling an online gallery, ensure that their pieces likewise come with the official Igloo tags to guarantee authenticity.

Some tourist stores 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 sculpted from stone and for that reason should have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the store shelves will look precisely like it.

This can be a real gray location to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag official site that comes with it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are generally kept in a different ( maybe even locked) shelf within the store.


Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated entirely 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 sites so you might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.