Tips on The Best Ways To Purchase and Purchase Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Presuming that the objective is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist replica, the question emerges on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to find out later on that it isn't really 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 art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more careful in other places in Canada, particularly in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The safest locations to buy Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are always the trusted galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Reputable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be located in the downtown tourist areas of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other normal tourist mementos such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with fakes or replicas . Simply to be even safer, make sure that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag accrediting 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 authentic pieces are signed. Be mindful that an anonymous piece might still be indeed authentic.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now credible online galleries that also concentrate on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a great option for buying Inuit art because the rates are normally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Obviously, like any other shopping on the internet, one need to be careful so when dealing with an online gallery, make certain that their pieces also include the official Igloo tags to make sure authenticity.
Some tourist shops do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone Kurt Criter and therefore should have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it.
Where it becomes more difficult to determine authenticity are with the recreations that are likewise made from 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 authentic. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if the Igloo tag is not available. The discover this authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are usually kept in a different ( maybe even locked) shelf within the shop.
Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries situated 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 bought from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.