Tips on Ways To Purchase and Look For Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the nation. 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 traveler locations popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail shops and displayed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting a growing number of international direct exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of tourists and art collectors to choose that they want to acquire Inuit sculptures as nice keepsakes for their homes or as extremely unique gifts for others. Presuming that the intention is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive traveler imitation, the question arises on how does one tell apart the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece just to discover later 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 artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more careful in other places in Canada, particularly in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The most safe locations to look for Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are constantly the reliable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Trusted Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres completely to Inuit art. These galleries will typically be found in the downtown tourist locations 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 normal tourist souvenirs such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with fakes or imitations . Simply to be even safer, make sure that the piece you have an interest in features a Canadian federal government Igloo tag certifying that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. So understand that an anonymous piece may still be undoubtedly authentic.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that also concentrate on authentic Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a good choice for buying Inuit art since the rates are generally lower than those at street retail galleries. Naturally, like other shopping on the internet, one should be careful so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also feature the official Igloo tags to make sure authenticity.
Some traveler stores do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the explanation other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and therefore must 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 shop shelves will look precisely like it.
This can be a real gray area to those unknown with authentic 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, place where it was made and the year it was carved. 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 store.
Because Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Credible Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally 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 might go shopping and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.