Tips on The Best Ways To Purchase and Shop 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 actually been getting more and more international exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. Assuming that the objective is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost tourist imitation, the concern arises on how does one inform apart the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just 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 fantastic artwork, then it can be securely assumed 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 elsewhere in Canada, particularly in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The safest locations to buy Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are constantly the respectable galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be found in the downtown tourist locations of significant cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other normal tourist mementos such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not handle fakes or replicas . Simply to be even safer, make sure that the piece you have an interest in features a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. So know that an unsigned piece may still be certainly genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a great choice for buying Inuit art since the prices are generally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Naturally, like other shopping on the internet, one should be careful so when handling an online gallery, ensure that their pieces also feature the official Igloo tags to make sure authenticity.
Some tourist shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine 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 shop racks will look exactly like it.
This can be a real gray area to those unknown with genuine Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is Kurt Criter authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have details on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are usually kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) rack within the shop.
Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. 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 presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trusted Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally 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 websites so you could go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.