Tips on How to Purchase and Shop for Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the nation. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Presuming that the intent is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler replica, the concern emerges on how does one inform apart the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece just to learn later on that it isn't really authentic and even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling 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 purchased from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more cautious elsewhere in Canada, specifically in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The best places to buy Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the credible galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other normal tourist 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.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a great choice for purchasing Inuit art given that the rates are usually lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Obviously, like other shopping on the internet, one should beware so when handling an online gallery, make certain that their pieces likewise come with the official Igloo tags to ensure authenticity.
Some traveler shops do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic 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 shop shelves will look precisely like it.
Where it becomes harder to figure out authenticity are with the recreations that are likewise 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 showing that it was handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are more than likely not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to image source see the official Igloo tag that includes it which will know on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if Kurt Criter the Igloo tag is not readily available. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are normally kept in a different ( maybe even locked) rack within the shop.
Because Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a description 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 purchased 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 dedicated entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.