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

Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art kind at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Assuming that the objective is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist imitation, the concern develops on how does one inform apart the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to discover later that it isn't authentic and even 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 assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more mindful in other places in Canada, especially in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The best places to buy Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the trustworthy galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Credible Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other normal traveler keepsakes such as postcards or tee shirts . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed.

A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that also focus on genuine Inuit art. Because of lower overheads, these online galleries are a great alternative for purchasing Inuit art considering that the prices are typically lower than those at street retail galleries. Naturally, like any other shopping on the internet, one need to 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 carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore should 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 store shelves will look exactly like it.

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


Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art kind 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 artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might 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 might go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.