Tips on Ways To Buy and Purchase Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in a few of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist areas popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and showed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct 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 numerous tourists and art collectors to choose that they wish to buy Inuit sculptures as great souvenirs for their houses or as really special presents for others. Assuming that the intention is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist replica, the question arises on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to learn later 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 fantastic art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, particularly in tourist 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 offered.
The safest places to purchase Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always the reliable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.
Respectable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be located 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 perhaps Native art however none of the other usual traveler souvenirs such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle fakes or replicas . Just to be even more secure, ensure that the piece you have an interest in includes a Canadian federal government Igloo tag certifying that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The article Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. Be mindful that an unsigned piece might still be indeed genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites 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 reputable online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some tourist shops do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore should have some weight or mass to it. 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.
This can be a genuine gray area to those unknown with genuine Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have info on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are typically kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.
Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic 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. Reputable Inuit art galleries are also listed 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 authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could shop and buy authentic Inuit art her response sculpture from home anywhere in the world.