Tips on How to Buy and Look For Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. These are the splendid handmade sculptures carved 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 locations popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail shops and showed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has actually been getting a growing number of worldwide exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to choose that they wish to acquire Inuit sculptures as good souvenirs for their homes or as extremely unique presents for others. Presuming that the objective is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist replica, the concern develops on how does one differentiate the real thing from the fakes?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later that it isn't authentic or perhaps made in Canada. If one is fortunate 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 bought from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more cautious elsewhere in Canada, particularly in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The best locations to buy Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are constantly the reputable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Reputable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other usual traveler mementos such as tee shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that likewise concentrate on genuine Inuit art. These online review galleries are a great option for purchasing Inuit art Kurt Criter given that the prices are usually lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like any other shopping on the internet, one must take care so when dealing with an online gallery, ensure that their pieces also include the main Igloo tags to make sure authenticity.
Some traveler shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore should 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 shop shelves will look precisely like it.
Where it ends up being more difficult to figure out 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 might 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 declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if the Igloo tag is not readily available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are generally kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.
Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries 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 securely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.