Tips on Ways 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 visiting the country. These are the stunning 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 areas popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail shops and showed at some museums. Because Inuit art has actually been getting increasingly more international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian art type at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of travelers and art collectors to choose that they wish to buy Inuit sculptures as good souvenirs for their houses or as really special presents for others. Assuming that the intent is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler replica, the question occurs on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to learn later that it isn't genuine 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 artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more mindful elsewhere in Canada, particularly in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The best locations to shop for Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are constantly the trusted galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be located in the downtown traveler locations of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other usual my link traveler keepsakes such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle phonies or imitations . Simply to be even more secure, ensure that the piece you are interested in features a Canadian federal government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Be conscious that an unsigned piece may still be indeed authentic.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that also focus on genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a good choice for purchasing Inuit art considering that the costs are usually lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one must beware so when handling an online gallery, ensure that their pieces likewise include the main Igloo tags to ensure authenticity.
Some tourist stores do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved 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 shelves will look exactly like it.
Where it ends up being harder to figure out credibility are with the reproductions that are also made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some type of tag suggesting that it was handcrafted however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are more than likely not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that includes it which will know on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not offered, move on. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are generally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the store.
Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, people 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 terrific 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. Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely 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 house anywhere in the world.