Tips on How to Buy and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. These are the splendid handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler areas popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail shops and displayed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to choose that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as nice mementos for their houses or as extremely distinct gifts for others. Assuming that the intention is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap traveler imitation, 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 find out later on that it isn't authentic or perhaps made in Canada. If one is lucky 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 shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more mindful in other places in Canada, specifically in traveler areas 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 shop for Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the respectable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be found in the downtown traveler locations of significant cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other normal traveler keepsakes such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle replicas or fakes . Simply to be even much safer, ensure that the piece you are interested in features a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. So know that an go to these guys anonymous piece might still be indeed genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might go shopping and purchase genuine 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 specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some traveler stores do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason must 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 store racks will look exactly like it.
This can be a real gray area to those unknown with authentic Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have details on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. 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.
Because Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Kurt Criter Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated completely check out this site 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.