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



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. These are the stunning handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in a few of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler areas popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail stores and displayed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has actually been getting a growing number of worldwide direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of tourists and art collectors to choose that they would like to acquire Inuit sculptures as great keepsakes for their homes or as really special gifts for others. Assuming that the intent is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost tourist imitation, the question develops on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to discover later that it isn't authentic or perhaps 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 artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, specifically in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The safest locations to buy Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are constantly the respectable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Respectable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be located in the downtown tourist locations of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other typical tourist keepsakes such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle replicas or phonies . Just to be even more secure, make sure that the piece you are interested in includes a Canadian federal government Igloo tag licensing 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. Be aware that an anonymous piece might still be certainly authentic.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art.

Some traveler stores do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to accommodate all types of tourists. When shopping at these types of stores, it is possible to tell apart the real pieces from the recreations. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason should have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also cold to the touch. A reproduction made from plastic or resin from a mold will be much lighter in weight and will not be cold to the touch. A reproduction will in some cases have a company name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never feature an artist's signature. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the store racks will look precisely like it. If there are duplicates of a particular piece with specific information, the piece is not genuine. It is probably not real if a piece looks too best in information with absolute straight bottoms or sides. Obviously, if Find Out More a piece features a sticker label showing that is was made in an Asian country, then it is undoubtedly a phony. There will also be a big price difference in between authentic pieces and the imitations.

Where it becomes harder to identify authenticity are with the recreations that are likewise made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag indicating that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are probably not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features it which will know on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not available, proceed. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are normally kept in a different ( maybe even locked) rack within the shop.


Because Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art type at galleries and museums 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 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. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise listed 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 authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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