Tips on Ways To Purchase and Shop for Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. Assuming that the objective is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler replica, the question emerges on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to discover later on that it isn't genuine 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 fantastic art work, 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 have to be more cautious in other places in Canada, especially in tourist 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 offered.
The most safe places to look for Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are constantly the credible galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Reputable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be located 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 perhaps Native art however none of the other normal traveler keepsakes such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle replicas or phonies . Just to be even much safer, ensure that the piece you are interested in includes a Canadian government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. So know that an anonymous piece might still be undoubtedly genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art.
Some tourist stores do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore ought to have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the shop racks will look precisely like it.
Where it ends up being more difficult to identify authenticity are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag indicating that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features it which will know on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not available, carry on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are typically kept in a different ( possibly even locked) shelf within the shop.
Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver see page either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Kurt Criter Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.