Tips on How to Purchase and Shop for Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. Because Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Presuming that the objective is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler replica, the question occurs on how does one inform apart the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to learn later that it isn't really authentic and even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more mindful in other places in Canada, particularly in traveler 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 safest places to shop for Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are always the trustworthy galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Credible Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be located in the downtown traveler areas of significant cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other typical traveler souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle phonies or imitations . Simply to be even safer, 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 may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Be aware that an anonymous piece might still be indeed authentic.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might 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 respectable online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.
Some tourist stores do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore ought to have some weight or mass visit the website to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the shop racks will look precisely like it.
This can be a real gray location to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have details on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are usually kept in a different ( maybe even locked) rack within the shop.
Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise 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 however not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.