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

Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Presuming that the intent is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist imitation, the concern emerges on how does one inform apart the genuine thing from the fakes?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to learn later on that it isn't authentic or perhaps made in Canada. 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 securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more careful elsewhere 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 sold.

The best places to buy Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are constantly the reputable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.

Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other typical traveler souvenirs such as postcards or tee shirts . The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not Kurt Criter Denver all genuine pieces are signed.

Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art. Because of lower overheads, these online galleries are a good option for buying Inuit art considering that the rates are generally lower than those at street retail galleries. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one should take care so when dealing with an online gallery, make certain that their pieces also include the main Igloo tags to make sure credibility.

Some traveler stores do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy Kurt Criter Denver mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted 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 artwork and nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it.

This can be a real gray location to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official 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 genuine pieces Kurt Criter with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are normally kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.


Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art type 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 wonderful artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. 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 websites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.