Tips on Ways To Purchase and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intent is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler replica, the concern develops on how does one inform apart the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to learn later that it isn't genuine and 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 fantastic artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, especially in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The best locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the reliable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be located in the downtown traveler areas of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other typical tourist keepsakes such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle fakes or replicas . Simply to be even more secure, make sure that the piece you are interested in includes a Canadian federal government Igloo tag certifying that it was handmade https://www.quora.com/profile/Kurt-Criter by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Be conscious that an unsigned piece may still be indeed genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that likewise concentrate on authentic Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a great option for purchasing Inuit art considering that the prices are usually lower than those at street retail galleries. Of course, like other shopping on the internet, one should beware so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also come with the main Igloo tags to ensure authenticity.
Some traveler stores do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs 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 authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely like it.
Where it ends up being more difficult to determine authenticity are with the recreations that are likewise made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag indicating that it was handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that includes it which will know 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 genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are usually kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.
Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art form 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 wonderful artwork, then it can be securely assumed 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 noted 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 likewise have sites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.