Tips on How to Purchase and Purchase Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the nation. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures sculpted 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 tourist locations popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail stores and displayed at some museums. Because Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to choose that they want to purchase Inuit sculptures as nice mementos for their homes or as really unique gifts for others. Presuming that the intent is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler replica, the question arises on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to learn 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 terrific art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more mindful somewhere else in Canada, specifically in traveler 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 safest places to purchase Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always the trustworthy galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres completely to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be found in the downtown tourist areas of significant cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other usual tourist souvenirs such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with phonies or replicas . Simply to be even much safer, make certain that the piece you are interested in includes a Canadian government Igloo tag licensing 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 authentic pieces are signed. Be mindful that an unsigned piece may still be indeed genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now credible online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some traveler stores do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy visit their website mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason should have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the store 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 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 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, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not offered, move on. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are typically kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries 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 fantastic artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated 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 also have sites so you might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.