Tips on Ways 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 magnificent handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living 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 areas popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and displayed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, people may 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 choose that they want to buy Inuit sculptures as good mementos for their homes or as very special gifts for others. Assuming that the intention is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist replica, the question emerges on how does one differentiate the real thing from the phonies?
It would be quite frustrating 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 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 bought from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, especially in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The most safe places to purchase Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are constantly the reliable galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be located in the downtown tourist locations of major cities. see post When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other usual tourist keepsakes such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with fakes or replicas . Simply to be even safer, ensure 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 may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Be mindful that an anonymous piece may still be indeed authentic.
A few of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that likewise specialize in genuine Inuit art. Because of lower overheads, these online galleries are a good choice for buying Inuit art considering that the costs are usually lower than those at street retail galleries. Naturally, like any other shopping on the internet, one need to be go to this website careful so when handling an online gallery, make certain that their pieces likewise come with the official Igloo tags to ensure authenticity.
Some traveler shops do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason should have some weight or mass to it. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the store shelves will look exactly like it.
This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have info on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are typically kept visit the site in a separate (perhaps even locked) shelf within the store.
Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. If one is fortunate 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 assumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Credible Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might 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 could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.