Tips on How 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 exploring the nation. These are the stunning handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in some of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler areas popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail shops and displayed at some museums. Because Inuit art has been getting increasingly more worldwide exposure, individuals 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 decide that they want to purchase Inuit sculptures as nice mementos for their houses or as extremely distinct presents for others. Assuming that the intention is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost tourist imitation, the question occurs on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later on that it isn't really genuine and even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, specifically in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The most safe locations to look for Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are constantly the reputable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be located in the downtown tourist locations of significant cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other usual traveler keepsakes such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle imitations or phonies . Just to be even more secure, ensure that the piece you are interested in features a Canadian federal government Igloo tag licensing 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 understand that an anonymous piece may still be certainly genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some tourist stores Kurt Criter do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos 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 genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the store shelves will look precisely like it.
Where it becomes more difficult to identify authenticity are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag suggesting that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are more than likely not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that features it which will know on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are usually kept in a separate ( possibly even locked) shelf within the store.
Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally 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 likewise have websites so you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.