Tips on Ways To Purchase and Look For Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in a few of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist 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 more and more global exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind 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 acquire Inuit sculptures as great keepsakes for their homes or as really unique gifts for others. Presuming that the intent is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap tourist imitation, the concern arises on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to discover later that it isn't genuine and 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 wonderful artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more cautious elsewhere in Canada, particularly in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The most safe locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are constantly the trustworthy galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be located in the downtown traveler areas of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other typical tourist souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle imitations or fakes . Just to be even more secure, ensure 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 might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. So be aware that an unsigned piece may still be indeed authentic.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some traveler stores 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 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 nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it.
Where it ends up being more difficult to figure out authenticity are with the reproductions that are also made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag indicating that it was handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are probably not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not offered. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are usually kept in a different ( possibly even locked) rack her response within the store.
Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art type 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 fantastic 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. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely 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 websites so you might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.