Tips on How to Purchase and Buy 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 spectacular handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in some of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler locations popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and displayed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting a growing number of global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to decide that they want to acquire Inuit sculptures as good keepsakes for their homes or as really distinct gifts for others. Presuming that the intention is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap tourist imitation, the concern emerges on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to find out later that it isn't really authentic or even made in Canada. 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 purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious in other places in Canada, especially in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The safest locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are constantly the trustworthy galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.
Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other normal tourist keepsakes such as t-shirts or postcards . 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 likewise have sites so you might shop and purchase 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 also specialize in genuine Inuit art.
Some traveler stores 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 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 art work and absolutely nothing else on the store racks will look exactly like it.
Where it becomes more difficult to figure out credibility are with the reproductions that are likewise made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag showing that it was handcrafted however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are most likely not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that includes it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on dig this if the Igloo tag is not available. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are typically kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.
Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. 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 purchased from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.