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 exploring the country. These are the splendid 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 traveler locations popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail shops and displayed at some museums. Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind 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 acquire Inuit sculptures as great keepsakes for their houses or as really special presents for others. Assuming that the intent is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist replica, the concern arises on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn't genuine and even 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 directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more careful in other places in Canada, specifically in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The safest places to buy Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always the credible galleries that concentrate 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 listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be found in the downtown tourist areas of significant 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 usual traveler keepsakes such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle imitations or phonies . Just to be even much safer, make sure that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian federal government Igloo tag licensing 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. So be aware that an anonymous piece may still be undoubtedly authentic.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a good choice for buying Inuit art since the costs are generally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Obviously, like other shopping on the internet, one need to be careful so when dealing with an online gallery, ensure that their pieces likewise feature the main Igloo tags to ensure authenticity.
Some tourist stores do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason should have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a check this site out kind piece of art work and nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it.
Where it ends up being harder to determine credibility are with the reproductions that are also made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag suggesting that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are more than likely not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will know on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not readily available. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are usually kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the shop.
Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed 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 however not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.