Tips on The Best Ways To Buy and Look For Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures

Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intent is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost tourist replica, the concern arises 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 on that it isn't genuine 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 artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more mindful somewhere else in Canada, especially in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The most safe places to shop for Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the trusted galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Credible Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres totally to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be located in the downtown tourist areas of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other typical traveler souvenirs such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with replicas or phonies . Simply to be even much safer, make certain that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag accrediting 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 authentic pieces are signed. So understand that an unsigned piece may still be indeed genuine.

Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites 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 trustworthy online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art.

Some tourist shops do carry 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 for that reason should have some weight or mass to it. An genuine 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 can be a genuine gray area to those unknown with authentic Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece Kurt Criter Denver is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have info on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are usually kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) rack within the shop.


Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.