Tips on The Best Ways To Buy and Buy Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the nation. These are the stunning handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in a few of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist areas popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail stores and showed at some museums. Since Inuit art has actually been getting increasingly more international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian art type at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous tourists and art collectors to decide that they wish to purchase Inuit sculptures as good souvenirs for their homes or as very unique presents for others. Presuming that the objective is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist replica, the concern occurs on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn't authentic or even made in Canada. 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 regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious in other places in Canada, particularly in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The safest places to shop for Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are constantly the reliable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other usual tourist keepsakes such as t-shirts or postcards . 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 sites so you could go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now credible online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a excellent option for purchasing Inuit art because the prices are typically lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Obviously, like other shopping on the internet, one need to take care so when dealing with an online gallery, make certain that their pieces likewise come with the official Igloo tags to ensure credibility.

Some traveler stores do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore should 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 like it.

Where it ends up being more difficult to figure out credibility are with the recreations that are also made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag indicating that it was handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are more than likely not authentic. If here are the findings a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that features it which will know on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not offered, proceed. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are generally kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.


Because Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art kind at galleries and museums 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 assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally 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 shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

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