Tips on How to Buy and Buy Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist areas popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and displayed at some museums. Because Inuit art has been getting increasingly more global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to decide that they want to buy Inuit sculptures as good keepsakes for their houses or as really unique gifts for others. Assuming that the intent is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist replica, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to discover later that it isn't really genuine and even made in Canada. If one is fortunate 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 purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more cautious elsewhere in Canada, especially in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The safest locations to buy Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always the credible galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be found in the downtown tourist locations of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other normal traveler souvenirs such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle imitations or phonies . Simply to be even safer, make certain that the piece you have an interest in includes a Canadian federal 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 however not all authentic pieces are signed. So be aware that an anonymous piece may still be indeed authentic.
A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now credible online galleries that likewise concentrate on genuine Inuit art. Because of lower overheads, these online galleries are a excellent alternative for purchasing Inuit art given that the rates are usually lower than those at street retail galleries. Naturally, like other shopping on the internet, one must take care so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces likewise include the main Igloo tags to make sure authenticity.
Some traveler stores do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore needs to have some https://www.spokeo.com/Kurt-Criter/Colorado weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the shop racks will look precisely like it.
Where it becomes harder to identify authenticity are with the reproductions that are likewise made from stone. This can be a genuine 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 handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are more than likely not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that includes it which will have information on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not available, move on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are generally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the store.
Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art kind at galleries and museums 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 wonderful artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally 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 likewise have websites so you could go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.