Tips on Ways To Purchase and Purchase Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Assuming that the objective is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost tourist replica, the question occurs on how does one inform apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to discover later on that it isn't really genuine and even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, particularly in tourist 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 offered.
The best places to shop for Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are constantly the trusted galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be found in the downtown tourist locations of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other normal tourist souvenirs such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle imitations or fakes . Simply to be even safer, make certain that the piece you have an interest in features a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. So be aware that an anonymous piece may still be certainly genuine.
A few of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that also focus on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a great choice for buying Inuit art because the prices are generally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Obviously, like other shopping on the internet, one need to take care so when handling an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also include the main Igloo tags to guarantee credibility.
Some tourist shops 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 carved from stone and therefore ought to have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the store racks will look exactly like it.
Where it becomes harder to identify authenticity are with the recreations that are also made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some type of tag showing that it was handmade 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 claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features it which will have information on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not available, carry on. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are normally kept in a separate ( possibly even locked) rack within the store.
Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries situated 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 safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern Kurt Criter store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.