Tips on Ways To Buy and Shop for Genuine 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 magnificent handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in some of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist areas popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail shops and showed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting a growing number of global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to decide that they would like to acquire Inuit sculptures as great keepsakes for their houses or as really special gifts for others. Presuming that the intention is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler imitation, the concern arises on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to learn later on that it isn't really authentic and even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more mindful elsewhere in Canada, particularly in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The most safe locations to look for Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are constantly the reputable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Credible Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be found in the downtown traveler areas of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other usual traveler mementos such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with replicas or fakes . Just to be even more secure, make certain that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian federal government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The reference Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. So understand that an anonymous piece may still be indeed genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some tourist stores do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted 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 nothing else on the store shelves 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 genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information 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 greatest priced and are usually kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) shelf within the store.
Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries 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 wonderful art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed 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 but not all genuine 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.