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 visiting the country. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. Assuming that the intent is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost tourist imitation, the concern occurs on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to find out later on that it isn't really authentic or perhaps 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 purchased from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious in other places in Canada, especially in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The best places to look for Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always the reputable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.

Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres completely to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be located in the downtown tourist areas of significant cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other normal tourist mementos such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle imitations or fakes . Simply to be even more secure, ensure that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Be mindful that an unsigned piece may still be undoubtedly authentic.

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

Some tourist stores do bring authentic Inuit art along with the other touristy mementos in order to accommodate all types of tourists. When shopping at these kinds of shops, it is possible to tell apart the genuine pieces from the recreations. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason should have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also cold to the touch. A reproduction 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 business name on it such as Wolf Originals more or Boma and will never feature an artist's signature. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it. If there are duplicates of a specific piece with exact details, the piece is not authentic. If a piece looks too ideal in detail with absolute additional info straight bottoms or sides, it is most likely not real. Naturally, if a piece includes a sticker suggesting that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is clearly a phony. There will likewise be a substantial cost distinction between genuine pieces and the replicas.

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


Because Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great 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 fantastic art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.

Leave a Reply

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