Tips on How to Buy and Shop for Genuine 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 sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in a few of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail stores and showed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous travelers and art collectors to decide that they would like to acquire Inuit sculptures as good souvenirs for their homes or as really unique presents for others. Assuming that the objective is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist replica, the question emerges on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?
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 securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, particularly in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The safest places to look for Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always the respectable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.
Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be found in the downtown tourist locations of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other typical traveler keepsakes such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with fakes or imitations . Simply to be even much safer, make sure that the piece you have an interest in includes a Canadian government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may browse around this site be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Be conscious that an unsigned piece may still be undoubtedly authentic.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some tourist stores do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason must 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 shop racks will look exactly like it.
Where it ends up being harder to determine authenticity are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some type of tag indicating that it was handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not authentic. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that includes it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if the Igloo tag is not readily available. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are generally kept in a different ( possibly even locked) shelf within the store.
Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might 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 sites so you could go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.