Tips on How to Buy and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the nation. Because Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide exposure, individuals might be seeing this Canadian great art kind at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. Presuming that the intention is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a low-cost tourist replica, the concern arises on how does one inform apart the genuine thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece just to find out later on that it isn't genuine or even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic 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 authentic. One would have to be more cautious somewhere else in Canada, specifically in tourist locations where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The safest places to shop for Inuit sculptures to guarantee credibility are always the trusted galleries that concentrate on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.
Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be found in the downtown traveler areas of major cities. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other typical tourist keepsakes such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle imitations or fakes . Simply to be even safer, make sure that the piece you have an interest in features a Canadian government Igloo tag certifying that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. So understand that an anonymous piece might still be undoubtedly authentic.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might go shopping and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from house throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that likewise concentrate on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a great choice for buying Inuit art given that the costs are usually lower Kurt Criter Denver than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like any other shopping on the internet, one need to be careful so when handling an online gallery, ensure that their pieces likewise include the official Igloo tags to guarantee credibility.
Some tourist shops do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. 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 art work and nothing else on the shop shelves will look exactly like it.
This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar 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 information on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are usually kept in a different (perhaps even locked) shelf within the store.
Since Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art type at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. 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 securely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Credible 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 however not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.