Tips on The Best Ways To Buy 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 nation. These are the splendid handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living 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 areas popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail stores and displayed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting increasingly more global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous tourists and art collectors to decide that they want to buy Inuit sculptures as nice keepsakes for their homes or as very special presents for others. Assuming that the objective is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist imitation, the concern emerges on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn't really authentic and even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, specifically in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The best locations to buy Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always the trusted galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.

Credible Inuit art galleries are also listed 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 perhaps Native art but none of the other typical traveler mementos such as tee shirts or postcards . 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 also have websites so you could shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a good option for purchasing Inuit art because the costs are normally lower than those at street retail galleries. Naturally, like any other shopping on the internet, one should beware so when handling an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also include the official Igloo tags to ensure credibility.

Some tourist shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore must have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely like it.

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


Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated totally to Inuit Kurt Criter art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.