Tips on Ways To Purchase and Buy 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 stunning handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in a few of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail shops and showed at some museums. Because Inuit art has been getting a growing number of international exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian art form at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many tourists and art collectors to decide that they would like to purchase Inuit sculptures as nice mementos for their houses or as really unique gifts for others. Assuming that the objective is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap tourist imitation, the question arises on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to learn later that it isn't authentic or perhaps made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip 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 need to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, particularly in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The safest locations to look for Inuit sculptures to ensure credibility are always the trusted galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide discovered in hotels.
Reliable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other usual tourist souvenirs such as postcards or t-shirts . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed.
A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now reputable online galleries that also focus on authentic Inuit art. Because of lower overheads, these online galleries are a excellent option for buying Inuit art because the costs are usually lower than those at street retail galleries. Of course, like other shopping on the internet, one should take care so when handling an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also feature the main Igloo tags to make sure authenticity.
Some tourist stores do carry authentic Inuit art in addition to the other touristy mementos in order to accommodate all types of tourists. When shopping at these types 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 must have some weight or mass to it. Stone is likewise cold to the touch. A reproduction made of 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 genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely like it. If there are duplicates of a specific piece with specific details, the piece is not genuine. It is most likely not genuine if a piece looks too best in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides. Of course, if a piece features a sticker indicating that is was made in an Asian country, then it is obviously a fake. There will also be a substantial price difference between authentic pieces and the imitations.
This can be a genuine gray location to those unknown with genuine Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have details on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The genuine pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great 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 terrific art work, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Respectable Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English https://www.intelius.com/people/Kurt-Criter/Denver-CO/0C32VFMB3R7 or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.