Tips on How to Buy and Look For Authentic 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 spectacular handmade sculptures sculpted from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in a few of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other traveler locations popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail shops and showed at some museums. Given that Inuit art has been getting more and more worldwide direct exposure, people 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 purchase Inuit sculptures as good souvenirs for their houses or as very unique presents for others. Assuming that the intent is to obtain an authentic piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost tourist replica, the question develops on how does one differentiate the real thing from the phonies?
It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece only to find out later that it isn't really 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 terrific art work, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would need to be more mindful elsewhere in Canada, specifically in traveler locations where all sorts of other Canadian souvenirs such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.
The most safe locations to buy Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are constantly the trustworthy galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which adheres totally to Inuit art. These galleries will usually be found in the downtown traveler locations of significant 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 usual traveler souvenirs such as t-shirts or postcards . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with phonies or replicas . Just to be even much safer, make sure that the piece you have an interest in comes with 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 Kurt Criter understand that an unsigned piece might still be indeed authentic.
A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that also concentrate on genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a good choice for purchasing Inuit art because the prices are typically lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Obviously, like any other shopping on the internet, one should be careful so when handling an online gallery, ensure that their pieces also include the main Igloo tags to ensure authenticity.
Some traveler stores do bring authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to cater to all types of travelers. Authentic 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 absolutely nothing else on the shop racks will look exactly like it.
Where it ends up being harder to figure out authenticity are with the reproductions that are also made of stone. This can be a real gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine 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 most likely not genuine. If a seller claims that such Kurt Criter Denver as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will know on the artist, location where it was made and the year it was carved. Move on if the Igloo tag is not offered. The genuine pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the greatest priced and are typically kept in a separate ( possibly even locked) rack within the shop.
Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art type at galleries and museums 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 wonderful artwork, 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. Trusted Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be go to my site signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.