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

Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist areas popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and showed at some museums. Since Inuit art has actually been getting increasingly more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of tourists and art collectors to decide that they would like to acquire Inuit sculptures as nice souvenirs for their homes or as very distinct presents for others. Assuming that the objective is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap traveler replica, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the real thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty 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 taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, particularly in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The most safe places to buy Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are constantly the reliable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other typical tourist souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed.

A few of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art. Because of lower overheads, these online galleries are a great option for purchasing Inuit art considering that the prices are typically lower than those at street retail galleries. Obviously, like any other shopping on the internet, one must be careful so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces likewise feature the main Igloo tags to ensure credibility.

Some tourist shops do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved 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 absolutely nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it.

This can be a real gray location to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have details on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are usually kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) shelf within the store.


Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian helpful site great art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. 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 safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine 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 also have sites so you might shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.