Tips on Ways To Buy and Purchase Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of 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 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 tourist locations popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail stores and displayed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting a growing number of worldwide exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to choose that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as great mementos for their houses or as very unique gifts for others. Presuming that the intention is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler replica, the question arises on how does one differentiate the real thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later on that it isn't genuine or perhaps made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more mindful elsewhere in Canada, specifically in traveler locations 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 best locations to look for Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the reliable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be located in the downtown tourist areas of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other normal tourist souvenirs such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with fakes or replicas . Simply to be even much safer, make sure that the piece you have an interest in includes a Canadian government Igloo tag licensing that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. So understand that an unsigned piece might still be indeed genuine.
A few 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 trustworthy online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a great alternative for purchasing Inuit art since the prices are normally lower than those at street retail galleries. Obviously, like other shopping on the internet, one should beware so when dealing with an online gallery, make certain that their pieces likewise feature the official Igloo tags to ensure credibility.
Some tourist shops do carry authentic 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 for that reason must have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the store racks will look precisely like it.
This can be a real gray area to those unknown with authentic Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have details on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are typically kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the shop.
Kurt Criter Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.