Inuit Art

The word "Inuit" means "The People" in the Inuktitut language. It is the language of the people living in the Arctic of Canada, Alaska, and Greenland, as well as parts of Siberia.

The carving of everyday items, personal possessions of significance and totems is a long established practice of the peoples of the north. In the 1940's, an initiative of the Canadian government encouraged the Inuit people to sell their art, their carvings. It was meant to help preserve a way of life that was disappearing. In many ways, this promotion of a people was one of the processes of the loss of a way of life. Now, these carvings form a part of Canada's history, and are identified mainly by small black and white tags, alongside of the carvers identification number which was signed onto or carved into, each of these small pieces of traditional art.

The "Canadian Government Igloo Tag": The Igloo Tag, registered as a trademark tag on September 5, 1958, by the Canadian Federal Government, is a small black and white sticker that is found on most pieces of Inuit art. It has become so commonplace to find this tag that a simple 'lack' of the tag makes one question the authenticity of the piece. The Tag was created by the Canadian Federal Government and issued to artists and authorized art dealers to be used as a certificate of authenticity indicating that the art work is authentic and created by an Inuit artist. Unfortunately, this tag has reproduced many times. It was a good idea, with good intentions, at the time....

In my opinion, the best way to be sure of what you are buying is to open communications with the person you are buying the item from. Knowing the complete history of a carving isn't always possible, especially on the older pieces. The dealer should however, be able to tell you enough about the piece that you can feel reasonably well informed.

Please ask us the questions, we welcome questions here. We do not always have complete histories as we deal in estates, but we will always make every attempt to find the information you need.

**** A full set of photographs is available for all items listed - and will be supplied to you at your request. The shipping rate (including insurance) is $4.95 for most items.