Tips on How to Purchase and Look For Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Presuming that the intent is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler replica, the question develops on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to learn later that it isn't authentic or perhaps 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 assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more careful in other places in Canada, especially in tourist 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 safest places to shop for Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are constantly the trusted galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be located in the downtown tourist areas of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other usual tourist keepsakes such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle replicas or phonies . Simply to be even much safer, ensure that the piece you are interested in includes a Canadian government Igloo tag licensing that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but Kurt Criter not all authentic pieces are signed. So know that an anonymous piece may still be undoubtedly authentic.
A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now credible online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a great option for buying Inuit art since the prices are generally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Obviously, like other shopping on the internet, one need to be careful so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces likewise feature the official Igloo tags to ensure authenticity.
Some tourist shops do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason must have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the shop shelves will look exactly like it.
Where it ends up being more difficult to identify credibility are with the reproductions that are likewise made from stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag indicating that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are more than likely not authentic. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not available, proceed. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are generally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) rack within the store.
Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums 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 safely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. 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.