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

Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the nation. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. Presuming that the intention is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist imitation, the concern develops on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to learn later that it isn't genuine or even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, specifically in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.

The best places to look for Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are constantly the reliable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.

Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other typical tourist mementos such as t-shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might shop and purchase 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 also specialize in authentic Inuit art.

Some tourist shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit 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 art work and nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely 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 genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some type of tag suggesting that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are more than likely not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not available, move on. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are generally kept in a different ( possibly even locked) shelf within the shop.


Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums 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 safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit more tips here art. 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 sites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.