Tips on Ways To Purchase and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. These are the stunning handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in a few of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and displayed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting a growing number of international exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of travelers and art collectors to decide that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as good mementos for their homes or as extremely special presents for others. Presuming that the intent is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist imitation, the question emerges on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later that it isn't really genuine and even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more careful in other places in Canada, especially in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The best places to buy Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are always the trusted galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which adheres completely to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be found 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 possibly Native art but none of the other normal tourist keepsakes such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with imitations or fakes . Just to be even much safer, make certain that the piece you are interested in includes a Canadian federal 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 but not all authentic pieces are signed. So know that an unsigned piece may still be undoubtedly genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some traveler shops do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason ought 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 shelves will look exactly like it.
Where it becomes harder to identify authenticity are with the recreations 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 might even have some kind of tag suggesting that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are more than likely not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not offered, proceed. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the shop.
Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art type at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, then it can be Kurt Criter Denver securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Credible 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 but not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.