Tips on How to Buy and Purchase Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some 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 numerous retail stores and displayed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has actually been getting a growing number of international direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of travelers and art collectors to decide that they wish to buy Inuit sculptures as nice mementos for their houses or as extremely special presents for others. Assuming that the objective is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler imitation, the question emerges on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later on that it isn't genuine or even made in Canada. 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 safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more cautious elsewhere in Canada, specifically in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The most safe places to purchase Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are constantly the respectable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.
Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be found in the downtown tourist areas of significant cities. 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 normal 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 features a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying 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. Be mindful that an unsigned piece might still be certainly genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.
Some tourist shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to accommodate all types of travelers. When shopping at these types of stores, it is possible to tell apart the real pieces from the look these up reproductions. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore must have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also cold to the touch. A recreation made from plastic or resin from a mold will be much lighter in weight and will not be cold to the touch. A recreation will often have a company name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never include an artist's signature. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it. The piece is not authentic if there are duplicates of a particular piece with specific details. If a piece looks too best in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides, it is probably not real. Of course, if a piece features a sticker suggesting that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is certainly a phony. There will also be a huge price difference between genuine pieces and the replicas.
This can be a genuine gray location to those unknown with genuine Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with site link it which will have info on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.
Because Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art type at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful 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 genuine. Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely 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 likewise have sites so you might go useful content shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.