Tips on Ways To Purchase and Buy Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the significant 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. Since Inuit art has been getting a growing number of global direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of tourists and art collectors to decide that they wish to purchase Inuit sculptures as great souvenirs for their houses or as really unique presents for others. Presuming that the intent is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist imitation, the question develops on how does one differentiate the real thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece just to discover later on that it isn't really genuine or even made in Canada. If one is lucky 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 assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, specifically in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The most safe places to buy Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the reputable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other usual tourist souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed.
A few of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that likewise concentrate on genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a good choice for buying Inuit art because the prices are generally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like other shopping on the internet, one need to take care so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also come with the main Igloo tags to guarantee authenticity.
Some tourist shops do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes 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 art work and nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it.
Where it ends up being harder to figure out credibility are with the recreations 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 kind of tag showing that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are most likely not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features it which will know on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, proceed. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a different ( maybe even locked) rack within the store.
Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums situated 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 artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trusted Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which Kurt Criter is devoted entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may 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 purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.