Tips on Ways To Purchase and Buy Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic areas 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 various retail shops and showed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting a growing number of worldwide direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to choose that they would like to acquire Inuit sculptures as great keepsakes for their homes or as very distinct presents for others. Assuming that the intent is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap traveler replica, the concern emerges on how does one tell apart the real thing from the phonies?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece just to learn later that it isn't authentic and even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, specifically in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The best places to purchase Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always the trustworthy galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Credible Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other usual traveler mementos such as tee shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed.
Some of these Inuit art galleries company website also have websites 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 trusted online galleries that also specialize in authentic Inuit art.
Some traveler stores do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore must 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 identify authenticity are with the reproductions that are also made of 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 indicating 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 genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that features it which will know 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 official Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are usually kept in a separate ( possibly even locked) shelf within the shop.
Because Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip 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 regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trusted Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally 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 likewise have sites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.