Tips on Ways To Purchase and Look For Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. These are the splendid handmade sculptures carved 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 locations popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail shops and showed at some museums. Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of travelers and art collectors to choose that they would like to purchase Inuit sculptures as nice keepsakes for their houses or as really unique presents for others. Presuming that the intent is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost traveler replica, the question develops on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later that it isn't genuine 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 fantastic artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more mindful in other places in Canada, specifically in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The most safe places to shop for Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the trusted galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Respectable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other usual traveler mementos such as tee shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed.
A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a good alternative for buying Inuit art considering that the prices are usually lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like other shopping on the internet, one should be careful so when handling an online gallery, ensure that their pieces also feature the main Igloo tags to make sure credibility.
Some traveler stores do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone 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.
This can be a real gray location to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, Kurt Criter 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. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are normally kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.
Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, 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 authentic. Trusted Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Some my latest blog post 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.