Tips on The Best Ways To Purchase and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the nation. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler areas popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail stores and displayed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting a growing number of worldwide direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of travelers and art collectors to choose that they want to acquire Inuit sculptures as great souvenirs for their homes or as really unique presents for others. Assuming that the intention is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist imitation, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the real thing from the phonies?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to find out later on that it isn't genuine or even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, specifically in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The safest locations to look for Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are constantly the reliable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be found in the downtown traveler areas of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other typical tourist souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with phonies or replicas . Simply to be even much safer, ensure that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian federal government Igloo tag certifying that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. Be mindful that an anonymous piece might still be indeed genuine.

A few of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a great option for purchasing Inuit art since the rates are usually lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like other shopping on the internet, one should be careful so when dealing with an online gallery, make certain that their pieces also include the official Igloo tags to ensure credibility.

Some tourist shops do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore must 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 genuine gray area to those unknown with genuine Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have details on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are normally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.


Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art type 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 terrific artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reputable Inuit art galleries are also listed 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 genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture visit this page from home anywhere in the world.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *