Tips on Ways To Buy and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the nation. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in a few 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 numerous retail shops and showed at some museums. Because Inuit art has been getting a growing number of worldwide exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to decide that they would like to purchase Inuit sculptures as great keepsakes for their houses or as very special gifts for others. Presuming that the intention is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap tourist replica, the question develops on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to find out later that it isn't really authentic and 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 presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more cautious in other places in Canada, especially in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The safest places to buy Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are always the respectable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Respectable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other normal traveler mementos such as postcards or tee shirts . The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could shop and buy genuine 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 focus on authentic Inuit art. Because of lower overheads, these online galleries are a good option my latest blog post for buying Inuit art because the costs are generally lower than those at street retail galleries. Obviously, like any other shopping on the internet, one must take care so when dealing with an online gallery, ensure that their pieces also include the main Igloo tags to guarantee credibility.
Some tourist shops do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs 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 genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the store racks will look exactly like it.
Where it ends up being harder to figure out credibility are with the reproductions that are likewise made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag suggesting that it was handcrafted however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are probably not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that includes it which will know on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if the Igloo tag is not visit site available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are generally kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated completely 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 purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.