Tips on How to Purchase and Look For Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. These are the stunning handmade sculptures sculpted 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 traveler locations popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail shops and displayed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting a growing number of international direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous travelers and art collectors to decide that they wish to acquire Inuit sculptures as great souvenirs for their homes or as extremely special gifts for others. Assuming that the intention is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler imitation, the question occurs on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn't really authentic or perhaps made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or directly 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 mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The best places to purchase Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are constantly the credible galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some 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 is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be located in the downtown traveler locations of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other usual traveler keepsakes such as postcards or t-shirts . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle fakes or replicas . Simply to be even safer, make certain that the piece you are interested in features a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying 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 genuine pieces are signed. Be aware that an anonymous piece might still be indeed authentic.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some tourist shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason must 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 store shelves will look precisely like it.
This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is he has a good point genuine, ask to see the official 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 authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a different ( possibly even locked) shelf within the shop.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might 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 sites so you might go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.