Tips on How to Purchase and Shop for Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. Presuming that the intention is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist replica, the question develops on how does one inform apart the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn't really genuine and even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more cautious elsewhere in Canada, specifically in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The most safe locations to shop for Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are constantly the reputable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other typical traveler mementos such as t-shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now credible online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some tourist shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason should have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the shop shelves will look exactly like it.
Where it becomes more difficult to identify credibility are with the recreations that are likewise made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag showing that it was handmade but if there are other pieces browse this site 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 genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if the Igloo tag is not readily available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are usually kept in a different ( possibly even locked) shelf within the store.
Because Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art form 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 terrific art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Credible Inuit art galleries are also listed 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 authentic pieces are signed. 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.