Tips on Ways To Purchase and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. Presuming that the intent is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist replica, the concern develops on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to learn later on that it isn't genuine or perhaps made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, particularly in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs 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 guarantee 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.
Credible 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 just Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other normal traveler keepsakes such as postcards or tee shirts . The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed.
A few of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might 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 trusted online galleries that likewise concentrate on genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a good choice for buying Inuit art since the costs are typically lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one should be careful so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also feature the official Igloo tags to ensure credibility.
Some tourist stores do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted 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 artwork and nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it.
Where it becomes more difficult to figure out credibility are with the reproductions that are likewise made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag suggesting that it was handmade 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 includes it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not readily available. The authentic pieces with useful source the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are normally kept in a different ( possibly even locked) shelf within the store.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art form 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 wonderful art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reputable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely 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 likewise have sites so you could go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.