Tips on How to Purchase and Purchase Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. These are the stunning handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in some of the major 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 various retail stores and displayed at some museums. Because Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to decide that they want to buy Inuit sculptures as nice mementos for their houses or as extremely distinct presents for others. Presuming that the objective is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler imitation, the question arises on how does one differentiate the real thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn't authentic or 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 safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more cautious in other places in Canada, specifically in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The safest locations to look for Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are constantly the trustworthy galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted totally to Inuit art. 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 usual tourist souvenirs such as postcards or tee shirts . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed.
A few of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that also concentrate on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a good option for purchasing Inuit art since the prices are normally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one must take care so when handling an online gallery, ensure that their pieces also include the main Igloo tags to guarantee authenticity.
Some traveler stores do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason should have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it.
Where it becomes harder to figure out credibility are with the recreations that are also made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some type of tag indicating that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are most likely not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will know on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, proceed. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are generally kept in a different (perhaps even Kurt Criter Denver locked) shelf within the store.
Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals may 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 securely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine 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 also have sites so you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.