Tips on How to Buy and Shop for Genuine 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 spectacular handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in a few 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 showed at some museums. Because Inuit art has actually been getting a growing number of worldwide exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of travelers and art collectors to decide that they wish to acquire Inuit sculptures as good keepsakes for their homes or as extremely special presents for others. Assuming that the intention is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler imitation, the question emerges on how does one differentiate the real thing from the fakes?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn't really genuine 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 fantastic art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more careful in other places in Canada, specifically 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 best places to shop for Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the reliable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other usual traveler souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed.
A few of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a excellent option for purchasing Inuit art given that the costs are generally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like other shopping on the internet, one need to beware so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces likewise feature the main Igloo tags to ensure credibility.
Some tourist shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason needs to have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the store racks will look exactly like it.
Where it ends up being more difficult to determine credibility 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 indicating that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that includes it which will know on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if the Igloo tag is not readily available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are usually kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) shelf within the store.
Because Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in Kurt Criter 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 local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted 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 likewise have sites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.