Tips on The Best Ways To Buy and Look 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. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art type at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. Assuming that the objective is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist imitation, the concern arises on how does one inform apart the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to discover later on that it isn't authentic or perhaps made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious in other places in Canada, especially 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 sold.

The safest places to purchase Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are constantly the credible galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Reliable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres totally to Inuit art. These galleries will usually 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 possibly Native art however none of the other typical tourist souvenirs such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle phonies or imitations . Just to be even more secure, ensure that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian federal government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Be conscious that an anonymous piece may still be indeed genuine.

A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there Kurt Criter Denver are now credible online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art. Because of lower overheads, these online galleries are a good choice for buying Inuit art considering that the rates are usually 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 sure that their pieces also come with the official Igloo tags to make sure credibility.

Some tourist stores do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic 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 store shelves will look exactly like it.

This can be a real gray area to those unknown with authentic Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have details on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are generally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.


Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries located 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 assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might 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 purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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