Tips on How to Buy and Shop 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 residing in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in a few of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler locations popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail stores and displayed at some museums. Since Inuit art has actually been getting a growing number of international direct 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 numerous tourists and art collectors to choose that they would like to acquire Inuit sculptures as great souvenirs for their homes or as extremely unique presents for others. Assuming that the intention is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap traveler replica, the question develops on how does one differentiate the real thing from the fakes?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later that it isn't authentic or even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, specifically in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The best locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are constantly the reliable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Reputable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be located in the downtown tourist locations of significant 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 usual traveler keepsakes such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with phonies or replicas . Just to be even more secure, ensure that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian federal 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 however not all genuine pieces are signed. So understand that an anonymous piece might still be undoubtedly genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that likewise focus on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a great option for purchasing Inuit art considering that the rates are typically lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like other shopping on the internet, one must take care so when dealing with an online gallery, make certain that their pieces likewise come with the official Igloo tags to guarantee authenticity.
Some traveler shops do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason needs to have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the shop shelves will look exactly like it.
This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are generally kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) shelf within the shop.
Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, people might 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 art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trusted Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. https://myspace.com/kurtcriter 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 also have websites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.