Tips on How to Purchase and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail shops and displayed at some museums. Because Inuit art has been getting increasingly more global direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to decide that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as good mementos for their homes or as extremely distinct presents for others. Assuming that the intent is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist replica, the question emerges on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to find out later on that it isn't really 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 art work, then it can be securely assumed 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 in other places in Canada, particularly in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The best locations to shop for Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are constantly the credible galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Reputable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres totally to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be located in the downtown traveler areas of major cities. 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 mementos such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with phonies or imitations . Just to be even much safer, make certain that the piece you have an interest in features a Canadian federal 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. Be mindful that an anonymous piece may still be indeed genuine. Kurt Criter
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now credible online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a good choice for purchasing Inuit art since the prices are generally lower than those at street retail galleries. Obviously, like other shopping on the internet, one need to be careful so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also include the official Igloo tags to guarantee authenticity.
Some traveler stores do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore ought to 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 store shelves will look precisely like it.
This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are normally http://journals.oregondigital.org/index.php/OURJ/user/viewPublicProfile/5504 kept in a different ( maybe even locked) rack within the store.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trusted Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is go now devoted completely 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 also have sites so you might shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.