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



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the nation. These are the splendid handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living 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 worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail shops and displayed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous tourists and art collectors to choose that they would like to purchase Inuit sculptures as nice souvenirs for their houses or as very distinct gifts for others. Assuming that the intent is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a inexpensive tourist imitation, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the real thing from the phonies?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to find out later on that it isn't really authentic or even made in Canada. If one is fortunate 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 bought from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more mindful in other places in Canada, especially in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

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

Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres totally to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be located in the downtown traveler areas of major 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 usual tourist mementos such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle phonies or imitations . Simply to be even much safer, ensure that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian federal government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. Be conscious that an unsigned piece might still be undoubtedly authentic.

A few of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a great choice for purchasing Inuit art considering that the rates are usually lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Obviously, like other shopping on the internet, one must take care so when dealing with an online gallery, make certain that their pieces also include the main Igloo tags to guarantee authenticity.

Some traveler stores do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all kinds of travelers. When shopping at these types of stores, it is possible to tell apart the genuine pieces from the recreations. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason needs to have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also cold to the touch. A recreation made from plastic or resin from a mold will be much lighter in weight and will not be cold to the touch. A recreation will often have a company name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never ever include an artist's signature. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it. The Kurt Criter Denver piece is not authentic if there are duplicates of a certain piece with exact details. It is most likely not real if a piece looks too perfect in information with absolute straight bottoms or sides. Of course, if a piece features a sticker label indicating that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is clearly a phony. There will also be a huge cost difference in between genuine pieces and the imitations.

Where it becomes more difficult to identify credibility are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag suggesting that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they find are most likely not authentic. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, proceed. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are typically kept in a separate ( possibly even locked) shelf within the shop.


Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art type at museums and galleries 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 fantastic art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reputable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication 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 genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

Leave a Reply

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