Tips on How to Purchase and Purchase Authentic Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while visiting the country. Since Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian great art form at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. Assuming that the intent is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a cheap tourist replica, the concern occurs on how does one inform apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece only to discover later on that it isn't really authentic and even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more cautious elsewhere in Canada, especially in tourist 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 respectable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides discovered in hotels.
Trustworthy Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. When one strolls into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other typical traveler keepsakes such as postcards or t-shirts . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed.
Some of these Inuit art galleries also have websites so you could shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home throughout the world. In addition to these street retail specialized galleries, there are now reliable online galleries that also focus on authentic Inuit art. These online galleries are a good choice for buying Inuit art considering that the rates are usually lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Obviously, like any other shopping on the internet, one should take care so when handling an online gallery, make sure that their pieces likewise feature the official Igloo tags to make sure credibility.
Some traveler shops do bring authentic Inuit art along with the other touristy souvenirs in order to deal with all types of travelers. When shopping at these types of shops, it is possible to differentiate the real pieces from the recreations. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore needs to have some weight or mass to it. Stone is also cold to the touch. A recreation made of plastic or resin from a mold will be much lighter in weight and will not be cold to the touch. A recreation will sometimes have a business name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and Kurt Criter Denver will never ever feature an artist's signature. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of art work and absolutely nothing else on the shop shelves will look exactly like it. The piece is not genuine if there are duplicates of a certain piece with exact information. It is probably not genuine if a piece looks too perfect in detail with absolute straight bottoms or sides. Obviously, if a piece includes a sticker label showing that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is certainly a fake. There will also be a huge rate distinction in between genuine pieces and the replicas.
This can be a genuine gray area to those unknown with authentic Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the main Igloo tag that comes with it which will have info on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was carved. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are typically kept in a separate (perhaps even locked) shelf within the shop.
Considering that Inuit art has actually been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be safely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern shop or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Credible Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you could shop and buy authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.