Tips on Ways To Purchase and Look For Genuine 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 stunning handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in a few 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 displayed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting a growing number of international direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous tourists and art collectors to choose that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as great souvenirs for their homes or as extremely special presents for others. Assuming that the intent is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a inexpensive tourist imitation, the question develops on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only 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 art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more careful in other places in Canada, specifically in traveler areas 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 best places to shop for Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always the trustworthy galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres completely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be located in the downtown tourist locations of significant cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other usual tourist mementos such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with replicas or fakes . Just to be even more secure, ensure that the piece you have an interest in includes a Canadian 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 unsigned piece may still be indeed authentic.
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. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some tourist shops do carry genuine Inuit art https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNxmDR0Lf7eKav0Z4XkSZcWl9N4D2c9qa as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted https://www.intelius.com/people/Kurt-Criter/Denver-CO/0C32VFMB3R7 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 racks will look precisely like it.
Where it becomes harder to identify authenticity are with the recreations that are likewise made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some type of tag indicating that it was handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are probably not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that includes it which will know on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, proceed. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are usually kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) rack within the shop.
Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated completely 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 also have sites so you might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.