Tips on How to Purchase and Purchase Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures sculpted 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 locations popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail shops and displayed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting increasingly more international exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to choose that they would like to purchase Inuit sculptures as good keepsakes for their homes or as really special gifts for others. Assuming that the intention is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler imitation, the concern develops on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece just to learn later that it isn't genuine or perhaps made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more mindful elsewhere in Canada, particularly in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The most safe places to buy Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always the reliable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.
Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be found in the downtown traveler areas of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other normal traveler mementos such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with fakes or imitations . Simply to be even more secure, make certain that the piece you are interested in features a Canadian federal government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. So know that an unsigned piece may still be certainly authentic.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now credible online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some traveler stores do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of Kurt Criter tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore ought to have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the store shelves will look precisely like it.
Where it ends up being more difficult to identify authenticity are with the reproductions that are likewise made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic 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 similar in detail, they are more than likely not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features it informative post which will have information on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, proceed. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are generally kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) shelf within the store.
Because Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries 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 art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trusted Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit 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 likewise have websites so you might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.