Tips on How to Buy and Buy Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing 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 international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail stores and showed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian 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 would like to purchase Inuit sculptures as nice mementos for their homes or as very special gifts for others. Presuming that the objective is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist replica, the concern develops on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later on that it isn't really authentic or even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more mindful in other places in Canada, specifically in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The safest locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are constantly the respectable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.
Reliable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres totally to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be found in the downtown tourist areas of major 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 normal traveler keepsakes such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle replicas or fakes . Just to be even more secure, make sure that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying 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 mindful that an unsigned piece may still be undoubtedly genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might go shopping Source and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that likewise concentrate on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a excellent alternative for purchasing Inuit art since the costs are normally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one should be careful so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also include the official Igloo tags to make sure authenticity.
Some tourist shops do bring authentic 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 basics else on the store racks will look exactly like it.
This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have details on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The Kurt Criter genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are normally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.
Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, 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. Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally 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 also have websites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.