Tips on The Best Ways To Buy and Shop for Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the nation. These are the splendid 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 various retail shops and showed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting a growing number of global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to choose that they want to purchase Inuit sculptures as good souvenirs for their homes or as really unique gifts for others. Presuming that the intention is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler imitation, the concern emerges on how does one differentiate the real thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to discover later that it isn't really genuine and even 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 securely assumed 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 elsewhere in Canada, particularly in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The most safe places to buy Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the trustworthy galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.
Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be found in the downtown traveler areas of significant cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other usual traveler souvenirs such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with replicas or fakes . Just to be even safer, ensure that the piece you are interested in includes a Canadian government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handmade 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 unsigned piece might still be undoubtedly genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites 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 respectable online galleries that also concentrate on genuine Inuit art. Due to the fact that of lower overheads, these online galleries are a excellent option for purchasing Inuit art because the prices are generally lower than those at street retail galleries. Naturally, like other shopping on the internet, one need to beware so when dealing with an online gallery, make certain that their pieces also come with the main Igloo tags to ensure credibility.
Some tourist shops do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore should have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it.
Where it becomes more difficult to determine authenticity are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag suggesting that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are probably not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, proceed. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are usually kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) shelf within the shop.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Kurt Criter Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums 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 terrific artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted 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 likewise have websites so you could go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.