Tips on The Best Ways To Purchase and Buy Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. These are the magnificent 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 numerous retail stores and displayed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian art kind 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 would like to acquire Inuit sculptures as good mementos for their homes or as very unique gifts for others. Presuming that the objective is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist replica, the question arises on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to learn later on that it isn't really authentic or perhaps made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, particularly in traveler locations 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 purchase Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are constantly the trusted galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Trusted Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres completely to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be located in the downtown traveler areas of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other normal tourist souvenirs such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with imitations or phonies . Just to be even more secure, make sure that the piece you have an interest in features a Canadian government Igloo tag accrediting 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. Be conscious that an anonymous piece might still be indeed authentic.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now credible online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a great choice for purchasing Inuit art considering that the rates are typically lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like other shopping on the internet, one need to take care so when dealing with an online gallery, make certain that their pieces also feature the official Igloo tags to ensure authenticity.
Some tourist stores do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason needs 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 shop shelves will look exactly like it.
Where it ends up being harder to determine credibility are with the recreations that are also made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag showing that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves read this post here that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features it which will know on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, move on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide 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 safely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated entirely 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 genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.