Tips on Ways To Purchase and Shop for Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. These are the stunning handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in a few of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler locations popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail shops and displayed at some museums. Because Inuit art has been getting increasingly more global direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of tourists and art collectors to decide that they want to acquire Inuit sculptures as nice keepsakes for their homes or as really unique presents for others. Assuming that the intent is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a inexpensive tourist replica, the question emerges on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to discover later on that it isn't really genuine or 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 safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, especially in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The most safe locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always the respectable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other usual traveler souvenirs such as postcards or tee shirts . 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 likewise have websites so you might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.

Some tourist shops do carry genuine Inuit art along with the other touristy souvenirs in order to accommodate all kinds of travelers. When shopping at these kinds of shops, it is possible to differentiate the genuine pieces from the reproductions. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore needs to have some weight or mass to it. Stone is likewise cold to the touch. A recreation made of 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 discover this will never include an artist's signature. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the shop racks will look precisely like it. The piece is not authentic if there are duplicates of a particular piece with specific information. It is probably not genuine if a piece looks too best in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides. Naturally, if a piece features a sticker showing that is was made in an Asian country, then it is certainly a phony. There will also be a huge rate difference in between genuine pieces and the replicas.

This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a different ( maybe even locked) shelf within the store.


Because Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form 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 wonderful art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may 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 shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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