Tips on The Best Ways To Purchase and Look For Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the nation. These are the splendid handmade sculptures carved 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 tourist areas popular with global visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at different retail stores and showed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting a growing number of global exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian art kind at galleries and museums situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to decide that they want to buy Inuit sculptures as good mementos for their houses or as extremely unique presents for others. Assuming that the intent is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist imitation, the question arises on how does one differentiate the real thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece just to discover later on that it isn't 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 terrific artwork, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, particularly in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, essential chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The most safe places to look for Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are always the trusted galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Trusted Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres completely to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be located in the downtown tourist areas of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art but none of the other typical traveler souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle phonies or imitations . Simply to be even safer, ensure that the piece you are interested in features a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was handcrafted by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. So understand that an unsigned piece may still be undoubtedly genuine.
A few of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that also Kurt Criter concentrate on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a great alternative for buying Inuit art given that the prices are usually lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like other shopping on the internet, one must take care so when dealing with an online gallery, make certain that their pieces likewise include the official Igloo tags to guarantee authenticity.
Some tourist stores do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to deal with all types of tourists. When shopping at these types of stores, it is possible to tell apart the genuine pieces from the reproductions. Genuine Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore should 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 in some cases have a company name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never feature an artist's signature. 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. The piece is not genuine if there are duplicates of a specific piece with precise details. If a piece looks too ideal in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides, it is probably not real. Obviously, if a piece features a sticker showing that is was made in an Asian country, then it is obviously a fake. There will also be a big price distinction between authentic pieces and the imitations.
Where it becomes harder to identify authenticity are with the recreations that are also made of stone. This can be a genuine gray area to those not familiar with genuine Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some type of tag suggesting that it was handmade but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too comparable in detail, they are probably not authentic. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that includes it which will have information on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not offered. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are usually kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) shelf within the store.
Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, people might 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 fantastic artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece acquired from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.