Tips on How to Purchase and Purchase Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Assuming that the objective is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist imitation, the question arises on how does one inform apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to learn later that it isn't genuine or even 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 safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more cautious elsewhere in Canada, specifically in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The safest places to look for Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are always the reputable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise listed 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 possibly Native art however none of the other typical traveler keepsakes such as postcards or t-shirts . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed.
A few of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that also focus on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a great option for purchasing Inuit art because the costs are usually lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like other shopping on the internet, one need to be careful so when dealing with an online gallery, ensure that their pieces also come with the main Igloo tags to make sure authenticity.
Some traveler stores do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore should have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the store racks will look precisely like it.
Where it ends up being harder to determine credibility 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 might even have some kind of tag indicating that it was handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are probably not authentic. If a find here seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features it which will know on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was carved. If the Igloo tag is not available, proceed. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a separate ( possibly even locked) shelf within the store.
Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more Kurt Criter Denver worldwide exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art type at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. 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 assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated completely 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.