Tips on How to Purchase and Look For Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the nation. 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 major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler areas popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail shops and displayed at some museums. Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian art type at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous travelers and art collectors to choose that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as nice keepsakes for their homes or as extremely special presents for others. Presuming that the intention is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler replica, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later on that it isn't really authentic 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 terrific artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more mindful somewhere else in Canada, particularly in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The most safe locations to shop for Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are constantly the trusted galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be located in the downtown tourist locations of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other normal traveler souvenirs such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with replicas or phonies . Just to be even more secure, make sure that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag accrediting 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 genuine pieces are signed. So know that an anonymous piece might still be indeed authentic.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now credible online galleries that also concentrate on genuine Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a great alternative for buying Inuit art because the rates are usually lower than those at street retail galleries. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one should take care so when dealing with an online gallery, ensure that their pieces also feature the main Igloo tags to make sure authenticity.
Some tourist shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore needs to 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 ends up being more difficult to figure out credibility are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag indicating that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are probably not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will know on try this website the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, proceed. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are usually kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.
Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Respectable 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 also have websites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.