Tips on How to Purchase and Shop for Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian great art type at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intention is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist imitation, the concern develops on how does one tell apart the real thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later that it isn't genuine 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 fantastic artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more careful in other places in Canada, specifically in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The safest locations to purchase Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the respectable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Respectable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other normal traveler mementos such as t-shirts or postcards . 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 websites so you might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that also concentrate on genuine Inuit art. Because of lower overheads, these online galleries are a excellent choice for purchasing Inuit art considering that the costs are usually lower than those at street retail galleries. Naturally, like any other shopping on the internet, one need to beware so when dealing with an online gallery, make certain that their pieces also feature the official Igloo tags to make sure authenticity.
Some traveler stores do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and for that reason needs 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 store racks will look precisely like it.
Where it becomes more difficult to determine credibility are with the recreations that are also made from stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag indicating that it was handcrafted however 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 genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features it which will know on the artist, location 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 official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are generally kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) Kurt Criter shelf within the shop.
Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art kind at galleries and museums 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 artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English Kurt Criter or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.