Tips on Ways To Buy 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 spectacular handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in a few of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler areas popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail stores and showed at some museums. Since Inuit art has been getting increasingly more global direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian art kind at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous travelers and art collectors to decide that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as good mementos for their homes or as very unique gifts for others. Presuming that the intention is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist replica, the concern arises on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to learn later that it isn't genuine 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 wonderful art work, 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 have to be more mindful in other places in Canada, especially in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The safest locations to shop for Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are always the trusted galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.
Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other typical tourist keepsakes such as postcards or t-shirts . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed.
A few next of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that also concentrate on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a good alternative for buying Inuit art considering that the costs are typically lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Obviously, like any other shopping on the internet, one need to be careful so when dealing with an online gallery, make certain that their pieces likewise come with the main Igloo tags to make sure authenticity.
Some traveler shops do bring authentic 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 should have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the store racks will look exactly like it.
Where it ends up being more difficult to identify credibility are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some type of tag showing that it was handcrafted but 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 authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features it which will know on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, proceed. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are generally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.
Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely 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 also have websites so you might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.