Tips on How to Buy and Purchase Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in a few of the major 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 numerous retail shops and displayed at some museums. Since Inuit art has been getting a growing number of international direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous travelers and art collectors to decide that they wish to buy Inuit sculptures as great souvenirs for their homes or as really special presents for others. Presuming that the intention is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist imitation, the question arises on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later on that it isn't really authentic or perhaps made in Canada. If one is fortunate 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 regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious elsewhere in Canada, especially in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The safest locations to buy Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are constantly the respectable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.
Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be found in the downtown traveler locations of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other normal tourist souvenirs such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle fakes or imitations . Just to be even safer, make sure that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian federal 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 but not all genuine pieces are signed. So know that an anonymous piece might still be undoubtedly genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art.
Some tourist stores do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other our website touristy mementos in order to deal with all types of travelers. When shopping at these types of shops, it is possible to differentiate the real pieces from the recreations. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore needs to have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also cold to the touch. A reproduction made from plastic or resin from a mold will be much lighter in weight and will not be cold to the touch. A reproduction will in some cases have a business name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never ever feature an artist's signature. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it. The piece is not authentic if there are duplicates of a specific piece with specific details. If a piece looks too ideal in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides, it is most likely not real. Of course, if a piece features a sticker label showing that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is obviously a fake. There will also be a huge price difference between authentic pieces and the imitations.
This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have info on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are generally kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) shelf within the shop.
Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trusted Inuit art galleries are also listed 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 also have sites so you might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.