Tips on How to Purchase and Look For Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the nation. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living 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 locations popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and displayed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to decide that they wish to buy Inuit sculptures as good keepsakes for their houses or as really unique presents for others. Presuming that the intention is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist imitation, the question develops on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn't really genuine or even 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 presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more mindful somewhere else in Canada, specifically in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The safest locations to buy Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are constantly the reliable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated completely 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 usual traveler keepsakes 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 likewise have websites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.
Some tourist stores do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos 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 authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the shop racks will look precisely like it.
Where it ends up being more difficult to figure out authenticity are with the recreations that are also 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 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 authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that includes it which will have information on the artist, read this article area where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not available, carry on. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are usually kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art type 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 securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. 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 authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.