Tips on Ways To Purchase and Purchase Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in some of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and displayed at some museums. Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian art form 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 nice keepsakes for their houses or as extremely special gifts for others. Presuming that the intention is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler imitation, the concern emerges on how does one tell apart the real thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to learn later that it isn't really genuine or even made in Canada. 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 presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more mindful elsewhere in Canada, especially in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The best locations to buy Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are constantly the reputable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Credible Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other typical traveler souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . 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 also have websites so you might go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now credible online galleries that also focus on genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a excellent option for purchasing Inuit art given that the costs are usually lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one need to be careful so when dealing with an online gallery, ensure that their pieces likewise feature the main Igloo tags to ensure authenticity.
Some tourist shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved 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 nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely like it.
Where it becomes more difficult to determine authenticity are with the recreations that are likewise made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag suggesting that it was handmade https://soundcloud.com/kurt-criter however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are probably not genuine. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that includes it which will have information on the artist, place where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not offered, proceed. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are generally kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.
Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. 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 local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Credible Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated entirely to Inuit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Criter 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 go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.