Tips on How to Buy and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of 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 residing in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and displayed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has actually been getting increasingly more international exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian 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 want to acquire Inuit sculptures as great souvenirs for their houses or as extremely distinct presents for others. Assuming that the intent is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost tourist imitation, the question emerges on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece just to discover later on that it isn't really genuine or even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more cautious in other places in Canada, specifically in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The most safe places to purchase Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are constantly the credible galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.
Credible Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be found in the downtown traveler areas of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other typical traveler mementos such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with phonies or replicas . Just to be even safer, make sure that the piece you are interested in includes a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was handcrafted 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. Be conscious that an anonymous piece might still be indeed authentic.
A few of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art. Because of lower overheads, these online galleries are a great option Kurt Criter Denver for purchasing Inuit art considering that the rates are usually lower than those at street retail galleries. Naturally, like other shopping on the internet, one need to be careful so when handling an online gallery, make certain that their pieces also come with the main Igloo tags to guarantee credibility.
Some tourist shops do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved 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 art work and nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it.
Where it ends up being harder to identify credibility are with the recreations that are also made from stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag suggesting that it was handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are probably not authentic. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features 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 available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are normally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.
Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. 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 acquired from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted 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 but not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.