Tips on How to Buy and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. These are the stunning 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 traveler areas popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail shops and displayed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian art type at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to choose that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as good souvenirs for their homes or as really distinct gifts for others. Presuming that the intention is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap traveler replica, the concern emerges on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn't really genuine or even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be securely 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 careful somewhere else in Canada, specifically in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The safest locations to look for Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the reputable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be located in the downtown traveler areas of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other normal traveler souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with phonies or imitations . Simply to be even safer, make certain that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Be conscious that an unsigned piece might still be undoubtedly authentic.
A few 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 reliable online galleries that likewise concentrate on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a great option for purchasing Inuit art since the costs are usually lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like other shopping on the internet, one should beware so when dealing with an online gallery, make certain that their pieces also include the official Igloo tags to guarantee credibility.
Some traveler stores do bring authentic Inuit art along with the other touristy keepsakes in order to accommodate all types of travelers. When shopping at these kinds of shops, it is possible to tell apart the genuine pieces from the reproductions. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore needs to have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also cold to the touch. A reproduction made of plastic or resin from a mold will be much lighter in weight and will not be cold to the touch. A reproduction will in some cases have a business name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never ever feature an artist's signature. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it. The piece is not genuine if there are duplicates of a specific piece with precise information. If a piece looks too perfect in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides, it is probably not real. Of course, if a piece features a sticker label showing that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is clearly a phony. There will also be a huge price difference in between genuine pieces Kurt Criter and the imitations.
Where it ends up being more difficult to figure out authenticity are with the recreations that are likewise made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and might 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 most likely not authentic. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features it which will have information on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not available, move on. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are usually kept in a different ( maybe even locked) shelf within the shop.
Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic art work, 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. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated 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 likewise have sites so you might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.