Tips on How to Buy and Buy 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 stunning handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing 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 locations popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail stores and displayed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has actually been getting increasingly more international direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of tourists and art collectors to choose that they want to buy Inuit sculptures as great souvenirs for their houses or as extremely special presents for others. Assuming that the objective is to get 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 phonies?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to discover later that it isn't genuine 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 terrific art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more careful in other places in Canada, specifically in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The most safe places to shop for Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are constantly the trustworthy galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be located in the downtown traveler areas of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other typical tourist souvenirs such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle phonies or replicas . Just to be even much safer, make certain that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian federal government Igloo tag certifying that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. So be aware that an unsigned piece might still be undoubtedly genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home 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 shops do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Criter in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason needs to have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the store racks will look exactly like it.
This can be a real gray area to those unknown with authentic Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have details on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are typically kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) rack within the shop.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reputable top article Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics Get More Info but not all authentic pieces are signed. 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.