Tips on How to Buy and Buy Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many 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 living in the northern Arctic areas 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. Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting increasingly more global exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to choose that they want to purchase Inuit sculptures as great souvenirs for their houses or as very special gifts for others. Presuming that the intent is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost tourist replica, the question emerges on how does one differentiate the real thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece just to learn later that it isn't authentic 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 presumed 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 cautious somewhere else in Canada, particularly in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos 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 make sure credibility are always the trustworthy galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Respectable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be found 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 perhaps Native art but none of the other typical tourist keepsakes such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle phonies or replicas . Simply to be even safer, make certain that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian federal government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handmade 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 be aware that an unsigned piece might still be certainly authentic.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some tourist stores do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore should have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the store shelves will look precisely like it.
Where it ends up being harder to determine authenticity are with the reproductions that are also made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag showing that it was handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are most likely not authentic. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that features it which will have information on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not offered. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are generally kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) rack within the store.
Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip 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 bought from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Credible Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated completely to Inuit special info 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 also have sites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.