Tips on Ways To Buy 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 splendid handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in a few of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and showed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting increasingly more global exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian art kind 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 want to acquire Inuit sculptures as great souvenirs for their houses or as very unique gifts for others. Assuming that the objective is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler imitation, the question develops on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to learn later 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 fantastic artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, specifically in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The most safe places to buy Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are always the credible galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Reputable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be found in the downtown traveler areas of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other normal tourist mementos such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle phonies or imitations . Just to be even more secure, make sure that the piece you are interested in features a Canadian federal government Igloo tag certifying that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English Kurt Criter or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. Be conscious that an anonymous piece might still be undoubtedly genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some traveler stores do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason should have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the store racks will look exactly like it.
Where it ends up being more difficult to determine authenticity are with the reproductions that are likewise 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 indicating that it was handcrafted however 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 authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that includes it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if the Igloo tag is not offered. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are normally kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) rack within the shop.
Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries located 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 securely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.