Tips on How 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. Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. Assuming that the intent is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist imitation, the concern arises on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to discover later that it isn't authentic or 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 directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, specifically in traveler 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 offered.
The most safe locations to buy Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are constantly the trusted 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.
Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be located in the downtown tourist locations of significant 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 usual tourist mementos such as tee 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, ensure 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 genuine pieces are signed. So know that an anonymous piece may next page still be certainly genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might https://myspace.com/kurtcriter shop and purchase authentic 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 traveler shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore should 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 shop shelves will look exactly like it.
Where it becomes more difficult to determine authenticity are with the recreations that are also made of stone. This can be a real 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 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 comes with it which will know on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, move on. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a different ( maybe even locked) rack within the shop.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and my website make their wonderful art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.