Tips on How to Purchase and Look For Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. These are the splendid handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the major 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 different retail shops and displayed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting increasingly more international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous travelers and art collectors to choose that they want to buy Inuit sculptures as great keepsakes for their homes or as very distinct presents for others. Presuming that the intention is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap tourist imitation, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to learn later on that it isn't really authentic and even made in Canada. 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 safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious elsewhere in Canada, especially 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 shop for Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always the credible galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be located in the downtown tourist locations of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other normal tourist mementos such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle replicas or fakes . Just to be even more secure, make sure that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian federal government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Be mindful that an anonymous piece might still be indeed genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art.
Some tourist stores do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy address mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted 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 artwork and absolutely nothing else on the store racks will look exactly like it.
This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have info on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a different ( maybe even locked) rack within the shop. see here now
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries 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 fantastic artwork, then it can be securely presumed that you can try here any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication 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 authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.