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



Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. These are the splendid handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in a few of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler areas popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail stores and displayed at some museums. Because Inuit art has actually been getting a growing number of international exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to decide that they wish to buy Inuit sculptures as nice souvenirs for their homes or as very distinct presents for others. Assuming that the intention is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost tourist replica, the question develops on how does one tell apart the real thing from the phonies?

It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to find out later that it isn't really 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 terrific art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more mindful elsewhere in Canada, particularly in traveler 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 best places to shop for Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are constantly the reliable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be found in the downtown tourist locations of significant cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other usual tourist mementos such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with fakes or imitations . Just to be even more secure, make sure 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 might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Be conscious that an unsigned piece may still be certainly genuine.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now credible online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art.

Some tourist stores do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to accommodate all kinds of travelers. When shopping at these kinds of stores, it is possible to tell apart the genuine pieces from the reproductions. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore must 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 often have a company name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never feature an artist's signature. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it. If there are duplicates of a specific piece with precise information, the piece is not authentic. It is probably not real if a piece looks too perfect in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides. Obviously, if a piece features a sticker sites label indicating that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is undoubtedly a phony. There will also be a big rate distinction in between genuine pieces and the imitations.

This can be a genuine gray area to those unknown 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, area where it was made and the year it was carved. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are usually kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.


Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people might 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 securely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted 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 however not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

Leave a Reply

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