Tips on Ways To Purchase and Purchase Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the nation. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intention is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler replica, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later that it isn't genuine or even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more cautious in other places in Canada, especially in traveler locations 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 shop for Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are constantly the reputable galleries that focus on 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 likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be located in the downtown tourist locations of significant cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other usual traveler souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with phonies or imitations . Simply to be even more secure, make sure that the piece you are interested in includes a Canadian federal government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handmade 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 anonymous piece might still be indeed authentic.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine 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 carved from stone and for that reason needs 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 racks will look precisely like it.
This can be a genuine gray area to those unknown with genuine 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 details on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are typically kept in a different ( maybe even locked) rack within the shop.
Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine 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 presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. Kurt Criter 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 likewise have websites so you might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.