Tips on How to Purchase and Look For Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the nation. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in some of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler locations popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail shops and showed at some museums. Since Inuit art has actually been getting a growing number of international exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous tourists and art collectors to decide that they want to acquire Inuit sculptures as nice mementos for their houses or as really unique presents for others. Assuming that the objective is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist imitation, the question occurs on how does one differentiate the real thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to discover later on that it isn't genuine or even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, specifically in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

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

Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be located in the downtown traveler areas of find major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art but have a peek at this website none of the other usual traveler mementos such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with phonies or replicas . Just to be even more secure, make sure that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian federal government Igloo tag licensing that it was handcrafted 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 aware that an anonymous piece may still be indeed authentic.

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

Some traveler stores do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit Kurt Criter sculpture is carved from stone and therefore must have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the shop shelves will look exactly like it.

Where it becomes more difficult 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 type of tag indicating that it was handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that includes it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if the Igloo tag is not readily available. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are typically kept in a different ( maybe even locked) rack within the shop.


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. 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 assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise 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 websites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

Leave a Reply

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