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



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art type at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intention is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist replica, the question emerges on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to learn later that it isn't really 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 wonderful artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, especially in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The most safe places to look for Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always the respectable 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.

Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be located in the downtown tourist locations of significant cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other normal tourist keepsakes such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle replicas or fakes . Simply to be even much safer, make sure that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag licensing that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. So understand that an anonymous piece may still be undoubtedly authentic.

A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that likewise focus on genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a excellent alternative for purchasing Inuit art since the prices are usually lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one need to take care so when handling an online gallery, ensure that their pieces also feature the main Igloo find out here tags to guarantee authenticity.

Some tourist shops do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted 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 store racks will look precisely like it.

Where it becomes harder to determine credibility are with the reproductions that are likewise made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag showing that it was handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are probably not authentic. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that features it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, move on. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are typically kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.


Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art type 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 local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *