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. Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intention is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist imitation, the question develops on how does one inform apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn't really authentic or perhaps 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 safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more cautious in other places in Canada, especially in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The most safe places to look for Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are constantly the credible galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other typical traveler souvenirs such as postcards or tee shirts . The Inuit sculpture might 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 websites so you could go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some traveler shops do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore ought to 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 store shelves will look exactly like it.
This can be a genuine gray area to those unknown with genuine Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that Kurt Criter Denver comes with it which will have info on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are normally kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) rack within the store.
Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art type 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 wonderful art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.