Tips on Ways To Purchase and Buy Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Presuming that the intent is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler replica, the question arises on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn't really genuine and even made in Canada. 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 safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious in other places in Canada, specifically in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The most safe locations to look for Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are constantly the trustworthy galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Reliable Inuit art galleries are also listed 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 usual tourist keepsakes such as postcards or tee shirts . The Inuit sculpture may 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 likewise have sites so you could go shopping and purchase 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 genuine Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a great alternative for purchasing Inuit art because the costs are generally lower than those at street retail galleries. Naturally, like any other shopping on the internet, one should beware so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also come with the main Igloo tags to ensure authenticity.
Some tourist shops do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in that site order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted 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 shelves will look exactly like it.
Where it ends up being more difficult to identify authenticity are with the recreations that are likewise made from 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 indicating that it was handmade however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are probably not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if the Igloo tag is not offered. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are usually kept in a different ( possibly even locked) rack within the shop.
Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art kind at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. 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 securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trusted Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might 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 go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.