Tips on How to Purchase 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 country. Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art type at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. Assuming that the intent is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost tourist replica, the question emerges on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to find out later on 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 art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more mindful somewhere else in Canada, specifically in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The best locations to shop for Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are constantly the credible galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.
Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres totally to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be located in the downtown tourist locations of significant cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other normal traveler souvenirs such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with fakes or imitations . Just to be even safer, make certain that the piece you have an interest in includes a Canadian government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Be conscious that an unsigned piece may still be indeed authentic.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a great option for buying Inuit art considering that the costs are usually lower than those at street retail galleries. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one need to beware so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces likewise include the main Igloo tags to guarantee authenticity.
Some traveler shops do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore 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 shop racks will look exactly like it.
Where it becomes harder to identify authenticity are with the reproductions that are likewise made of stone. This can be a real 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 handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not readily available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are usually kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.
Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted 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 websites so you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere https://www.quora.com/profile/Kurt-Criter in the world.