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



Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the nation. Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art kind at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intention is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist replica, the question emerges on how does one tell apart the real thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to learn later on that it isn't authentic or even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more cautious in other places in Canada, especially in tourist locations 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 best places to look for Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always the trustworthy galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres completely to Inuit art. These galleries will normally 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 normal traveler mementos such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with phonies or replicas . Just to be even more secure, make sure that the piece you are interested in includes 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 genuine pieces are signed. So be aware that an unsigned piece might still be indeed authentic.

A few of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art. websites These online galleries are a excellent choice for purchasing Inuit art given that the costs are typically lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Obviously, like any other shopping on the internet, one should beware so when handling an online gallery, make sure that their pieces likewise include the main Igloo tags to make sure authenticity.

Some tourist shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted 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 artwork and nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely Kurt Criter like it.

This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have info on the artist, area 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 typically kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the store.


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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