Tips on How to Purchase and Buy Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. 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 global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail stores and showed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting increasingly more worldwide direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian art type at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of travelers and art collectors to decide that they wish to acquire Inuit sculptures as good souvenirs for their houses or as really unique gifts for others. Presuming that the intent is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost tourist replica, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the real thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to learn later that it isn't really genuine or perhaps 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 artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious in other places in Canada, especially in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The safest locations to buy Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are constantly the reliable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Credible Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be found in the downtown tourist locations of significant cities. 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 normal tourist souvenirs such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with replicas or phonies . Just to be even safer, make sure that the piece you are interested in includes 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 authentic pieces are signed. Be aware that an unsigned piece may still be indeed genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.
Some traveler stores do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason needs to have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the shop shelves will look exactly like it.
This can be a real gray area to those unknown with authentic 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 genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are click here now usually kept in a different ( possibly even locked) rack within the shop.
Because Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, 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. Trusted Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally 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 also have websites so you might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.