Tips on How to Buy and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the nation. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Presuming that the objective is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost tourist imitation, the question emerges on how does one inform apart the real thing from the phonies?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to learn later on that it isn't really genuine or 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 wonderful artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more cautious elsewhere in Canada, especially in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The safest places to purchase Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are always the trustworthy galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be found 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 maybe Native art but none of the other typical tourist mementos such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with replicas or fakes . Just to be even much safer, make sure that the piece you have an interest in comes with 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 genuine pieces are signed. So understand that an anonymous piece might still be undoubtedly authentic.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some tourist stores do bring authentic Inuit art go to this website as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved 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 precisely like it.
Where it becomes more difficult to identify credibility are with the reproductions that are likewise made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag indicating 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 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, location where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if the Igloo tag is not offered. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are generally kept in a separate ( possibly even locked) rack within the store.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. 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 safely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may 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 could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.