Tips on How to Buy and Purchase Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more global direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Assuming that the objective is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler replica, the concern develops on how does one inform apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to learn later on that it isn't authentic or 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 art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, especially in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The most safe places to buy Inuit sculptures to guarantee 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 discovered in hotels.
Reputable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be located in the downtown tourist areas of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other normal tourist keepsakes such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle imitations or fakes . Simply to be even more secure, make certain that the piece you are interested in comes with a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. So be aware that an anonymous piece may still be certainly authentic.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. Kurt Criter In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art.
Some tourist shops do bring genuine 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 therefore should have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the shop shelves will look exactly like it.
Where it becomes more difficult to determine credibility are with the reproductions that are also made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those not familiar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some kind of tag suggesting that it was handcrafted however if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are more than likely not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that includes it which will know on the artist, place 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 always be the highest priced and are usually kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) rack within the store.
Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form 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 fantastic artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trusted Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. 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 also have websites so you could go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.