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 visiting the nation. These are the splendid handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in a few of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler areas popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail stores and displayed at some museums. Because Inuit art has been getting a growing number of worldwide exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian art type at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to decide that they wish to purchase Inuit sculptures as good mementos for their houses or as very special gifts for others. Assuming that the intention is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost traveler imitation, the question develops on how does one differentiate the real thing from the fakes?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn't really genuine or perhaps made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, particularly in traveler areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The safest locations to shop for Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are constantly the trustworthy galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be located in the downtown tourist areas of major 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 usual tourist keepsakes such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only authentic Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with phonies or replicas . Simply to be even much safer, make certain that the piece you have an interest in features a Canadian federal government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. So understand that an unsigned piece may still be indeed genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that also focus on genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a great alternative for purchasing Inuit art because the rates are normally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Obviously, like other shopping on the internet, one need to take care so when handling an online gallery, make certain that their pieces likewise feature the main Igloo tags to guarantee authenticity.
Some tourist shops do bring authentic Inuit art in addition to the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all kinds of tourists. When shopping at these kinds of stores, it is possible to tell apart the genuine pieces from the recreations. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason needs to have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also cold to the touch. A reproduction made from plastic or resin from a mold will be much lighter in weight and will not be cold to the touch. A reproduction will often have a company name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never ever include an artist's signature. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the store racks will look exactly like it. The piece is not authentic if there are duplicates of a specific piece with specific information. If a piece looks too ideal in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides, it is probably not real. Naturally, if a piece includes a sticker showing that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is certainly a fake. There will also be a big cost difference between authentic pieces and the imitations.
Where it becomes harder to identify authenticity are with the recreations that are likewise made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some kind of tag showing that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable 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 comes with 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 readily available. The authentic pieces with the accompanying a knockout post official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are normally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.
Because Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit 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 likewise have websites so you might shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.