Tips on How to Purchase and Purchase Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in a few of the significant 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 various retail stores and showed at some museums. Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian art form 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 want to purchase Inuit sculptures as good keepsakes for their homes or as really special gifts for others. Assuming that the objective is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler replica, the concern arises on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn't genuine 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 art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, especially in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The most safe locations to purchase 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 tour guide discovered in hotels.
Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be found in the downtown tourist locations 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 typical traveler mementos such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with phonies or imitations . Simply to be even safer, make certain that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian federal government Igloo tag certifying that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Be mindful that an unsigned piece may still be undoubtedly authentic. Kurt Criter
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some tourist stores do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore must have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely like it.
Where it becomes harder to determine authenticity are with the recreations that are also made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag suggesting that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are most likely not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that features it which will have information on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not available, proceed. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are normally kept in a different ( maybe even locked) shelf within the store.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. 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 purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely 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 sites so you could shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.