Tips on Ways To Purchase 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. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in some of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist areas popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail shops and displayed at some museums. Since Inuit art has been getting increasingly more worldwide exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of travelers and art collectors to decide that they want to buy Inuit sculptures as good souvenirs for their houses or as very special presents for others. Assuming that the intent is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a inexpensive tourist replica, the question occurs on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be quite disappointing to bring home a piece just to discover later that it isn't really genuine or even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling 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 purchased from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, especially in traveler 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 sold.
The most safe locations to shop for Inuit sculptures to guarantee authenticity are always the credible galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other usual tourist keepsakes such as tee shirts or postcards . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed.
A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that likewise concentrate on genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a good Kurt Criter Denver option for buying Inuit art since the costs are normally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Obviously, like other shopping on the internet, one must beware so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces likewise feature the main Igloo tags to guarantee credibility.
Some tourist shops do carry genuine Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore ought to have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork this hyperlink and nothing else on the shop shelves will look exactly like it.
This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official 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 official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are usually kept in a different ( maybe even locked) rack within the shop.
Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reliable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.