Tips on Ways To Buy and Shop for 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. Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Assuming that the objective is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost tourist replica, the concern emerges on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to learn later that it isn't authentic and even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more careful in other places in Canada, specifically in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The most safe places to buy Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are always the reliable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other normal tourist souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed.
A few of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a good option for buying Inuit art considering that the prices are typically lower than those at street retail galleries. Of course, like other shopping on the internet, one should beware so when dealing with an online gallery, make certain that their pieces also include the official Igloo tags https://www.intelius.com/people/Kurt-Criter/Denver-CO/0C32VFMB3R7 to ensure credibility.
Some traveler stores do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason ought to 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 precisely like it.
Where it becomes harder to figure out authenticity are with the recreations that are likewise made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag showing that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are most likely not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that includes it which will have information on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not available. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are typically kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the store.
Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trusted 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 however not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.