Tips on How to Purchase and Buy Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Lots of visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. Given that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian great art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intention is to acquire an authentic piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap traveler imitation, the concern develops on how does one inform apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to find out later that it isn't really authentic and even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would have to be more cautious elsewhere in Canada, especially in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, crucial chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The best places to buy Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are always the respectable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have ads in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Reputable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted entirely to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be found in the downtown tourist locations of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and perhaps Native art but none of the other usual traveler mementos such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not handle fakes or imitations . Simply to be even much safer, make sure that the piece you have an interest in features 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 but not all genuine pieces are signed. Be mindful that an unsigned piece might still be indeed genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now credible online galleries that also focus on authentic Inuit art. Because of lower overheads, these online galleries are a good option for buying Inuit art considering that the costs are generally lower than those at street retail galleries. Obviously, like other shopping on the internet, one must be careful so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also feature the official Igloo tags to ensure credibility.
Some traveler stores Home Page do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason ought to have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the shop shelves will look precisely like it.
Where it ends up being harder to figure out authenticity are with the reproductions that are likewise made from stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. They do have mass and may even have some type of tag indicating that it was handcrafted but if there are other pieces on the shelves that look too similar in detail, they are more than likely not authentic. 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 sculpted. Move on if the Igloo tag is not available. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are generally kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) shelf within the store.
Considering that 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. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip 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 purchased from a regional northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely 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 sites so you could go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.