Tips on Ways To Buy and Buy Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. Because Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. Assuming that the objective is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler replica, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the real thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece just to learn later on that it isn't really authentic or perhaps 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 securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious in other places in Canada, especially in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The most safe places to purchase Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the credible galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be found in the downtown traveler locations of significant cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other typical tourist mementos such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle fakes or imitations . Just to be even safer, make sure that the piece you have an interest in features a Canadian federal government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Be mindful that an anonymous piece may still be indeed genuine.
A few of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that likewise focus on genuine Inuit art. Because of lower overheads, these online galleries are a good alternative for buying Inuit art because the rates are typically lower than those at street retail galleries. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one need to beware so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also feature the official Igloo tags to guarantee credibility.
Some tourist shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as try these out the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all address types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore needs to have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it.
Where it becomes more difficult to determine authenticity are with the recreations that are also made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some type of tag indicating 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 authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will know Kurt Criter Denver on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not readily available. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a different ( maybe even locked) shelf within the shop.
Considering that Inuit art has actually 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. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, 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 genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated totally 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 websites so you might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.