Tips on How 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 country. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. Assuming that the intent is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler imitation, the question emerges on how does one inform apart the real thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later on that it isn't 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 fantastic art work, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more careful somewhere else in Canada, especially in tourist locations 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 most safe places to look for 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 tour guide found in hotels.
Respectable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be found in the downtown traveler areas of significant cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art however none of the other usual tourist souvenirs such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with phonies or replicas . Simply to be even much safer, ensure that the piece you have an interest in includes a Canadian federal government Igloo tag certifying that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Be mindful that an unsigned piece may still be certainly authentic.
A few of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that also concentrate on authentic Inuit art. Since of lower overheads, these online galleries are a excellent option for buying Inuit art because the costs 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, ensure that their pieces likewise come with the main Igloo tags to guarantee credibility.
Some tourist shops do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved 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 and nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it.
Where it ends up being more difficult to figure out authenticity are with the recreations that are likewise made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and might even have some type of tag indicating that it was handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are probably not genuine. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that features it which will have information on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. If the Igloo tag is not readily available, proceed. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are generally kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art kind at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly https://www.mylife.com/kurt-kriter/e150459181992 publication which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture 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 could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.