Tips on How to Purchase and Purchase Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures sculpted 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 tourist areas popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and displayed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting increasingly more global direct exposure, individuals may 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 nice souvenirs for their houses or as extremely distinct gifts for others. Assuming that the objective is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler imitation, the concern arises on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to discover later that it isn't really genuine or perhaps made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more careful in other places in Canada, particularly in tourist locations 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 places to shop for Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are constantly the trustworthy galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be located in the downtown tourist locations of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other normal traveler souvenirs such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as see this site they do not deal with phonies or replicas . Just to view it be even more secure, make sure that the piece you are interested in features a Canadian government Igloo tag licensing that it was handcrafted 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 understand that an anonymous piece may still be indeed authentic.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that also focus on genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a good alternative for purchasing Inuit art given that the prices are typically lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one should be careful so when handling an online gallery, make certain that their pieces likewise come with the main Igloo tags to ensure authenticity.
Some traveler shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore must have some weight or mass to it. An authentic 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 unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main 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 always be the highest priced and are typically kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, individuals may 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 art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.