Tips on How to Purchase and Buy Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the nation. These are the stunning handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in some of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist areas popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and displayed at some museums. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous travelers and art collectors to choose that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as great keepsakes for their houses or as extremely unique gifts for others. Assuming that the intent is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost traveler replica, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the real thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn't really genuine 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 art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more mindful in other places in Canada, particularly in tourist locations 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 most safe locations to buy Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are always the reputable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.
Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely 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 typical traveler keepsakes such as t-shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed.
A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now credible online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a excellent option for buying Inuit art since the prices are normally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like other shopping on the internet, one need to take care so when handling an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also include the main Igloo tags to make sure credibility.
Some tourist shops do carry genuine 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 therefore needs to 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 shop racks will look exactly like it.
Where it ends up being more difficult to figure out authenticity are with the reproductions that are likewise made of 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 type of tag indicating that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are most likely not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that includes it which will know on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not available, carry on. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are normally kept in a my company different ( maybe even locked) rack within the shop.
Because Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form 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 securely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally 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 could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.