Tips on How to Buy 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 country. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intent is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist imitation, the question arises on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?

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

The safest locations to look for Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are constantly the trustworthy galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.

Reputable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres completely to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be found in the downtown traveler locations of significant cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only 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 Kurt Criter art for sale as they do not deal with replicas or phonies . Just to be even more secure, make sure that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. So be aware that an unsigned piece may still be indeed authentic.

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

Some traveler stores do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason needs to 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 store shelves will look exactly like it.

This can be a genuine gray location to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, 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 carved. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are generally kept in a different ( maybe even locked) shelf within the shop.


Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more try this out and more international direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky 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 acquired from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit 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 also have websites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.