Tips on Ways To Purchase and Look For Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures

Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. Presuming that the objective is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist imitation, the concern emerges on how does one inform apart the real thing from the fakes?

It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece just to learn later on that it isn't really authentic and 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 terrific art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more mindful in other places in Canada, specifically in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The safest locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are always the credible galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.

Credible Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be located in the downtown traveler areas of significant cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other normal tourist mementos such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle replicas or fakes . Just to be even much safer, make certain that the piece you are interested in features a Canadian government Igloo tag licensing that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. So be aware that an unsigned piece may still be undoubtedly genuine.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that likewise concentrate on genuine Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a great option for buying Inuit art because the rates are normally lower than those at street retail galleries. Obviously, like other shopping on the internet, one should be careful so when handling an online gallery, make sure that their pieces likewise feature the main Igloo tags to make sure credibility.

Some tourist shops do carry genuine 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 ought to have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the store racks will look exactly 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 genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are generally kept in a different ( possibly even locked) shelf within the store.


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate 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 acquired from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Credible Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine 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 authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could shop and buy genuine Inuit navigate to this site art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.