Tips on How 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 exploring the country. Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. Presuming that the intention is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost tourist replica, the question occurs on how does one inform apart the real thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to discover later that it isn't really 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 terrific art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, specifically in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The best locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are always the trustworthy galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.
Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be found in the downtown traveler areas of significant cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other normal traveler keepsakes such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with fakes or imitations . Just to be even safer, ensure that the piece you are interested in includes a Canadian federal government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. So know that an unsigned piece might still be indeed authentic.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art.
Some tourist shops do carry 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 therefore must have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind Kurt Criter Denver piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the shop shelves will look exactly like it.
This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have info on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are normally kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.
Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art type at galleries and museums located 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 securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Credible Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.