Tips on Ways To Buy and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. Presuming that the intent is to get an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler replica, the concern arises on how does one inform apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn't really authentic or 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 wonderful artwork, 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. One would need to be more mindful elsewhere in Canada, especially in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The most safe locations to shop for Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are constantly the trusted galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.
Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be found in the downtown traveler locations of significant cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other normal traveler souvenirs such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle phonies or imitations . Just to be even much safer, make sure that the piece you have an interest in includes a Canadian federal government Igloo tag certifying that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Be conscious that an unsigned piece may still be undoubtedly genuine.
A few of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now respectable online galleries that likewise focus on genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a great alternative for purchasing Inuit art given that the costs are normally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one should beware so when handling an online gallery, ensure that their pieces also come with the official Igloo tags to ensure credibility.
Some traveler shops do bring genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in visit site order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic 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 artwork and absolutely nothing else on the store shelves will look precisely like it.
This can be a genuine gray area to those unknown with genuine Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Criter is genuine, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have info on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are generally kept in a different ( maybe even locked) rack within the store.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums 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 terrific art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture Your Domain Name 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 shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.