Tips on How to Buy 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. These are the spectacular 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 locations popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail shops and showed at some museums. Since Inuit art has been getting a growing number of international direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of tourists and art collectors to choose that they wish to purchase Inuit sculptures as great mementos for their homes or as really distinct presents for others. Presuming that the objective is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap tourist imitation, the concern arises on how does one tell apart the real thing from the phonies?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to discover later on that it isn't really authentic and even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, particularly in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The best places to shop for Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are always the credible galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Reputable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres totally to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be found in the downtown tourist areas of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other normal tourist mementos such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with replicas or phonies . Simply to be even more secure, ensure that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian federal 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 however not all genuine pieces are signed. So understand that an anonymous piece may still be certainly genuine.
site link A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could go shopping and purchase 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 focus on genuine Inuit art. Because of lower overheads, these online galleries are a good choice for purchasing Inuit art considering that the prices are typically lower than those at street retail galleries. Of course, like other shopping on the internet, one need to beware so when handling an online gallery, make certain that their pieces also feature the main Igloo tags to ensure credibility.
Some traveler shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore must have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely like it.
Where it becomes harder to figure out credibility are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area https://www.pinterest.com/kurtcriter/ to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag showing that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are probably not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features it which will know on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not offered, carry on. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are typically kept in a different ( possibly even locked) shelf within the store.
Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more global 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 traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which Kurt Criter Denver is dedicated completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.