Tips on How to Buy and Shop for Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures
Numerous visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the country. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in a few of the major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with international visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail shops and showed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting increasingly more worldwide exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian art form at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for many travelers and art collectors to choose that they would like to buy Inuit sculptures as good souvenirs for their homes or as extremely unique presents for others. Assuming that the objective is to obtain an genuine piece of Inuit art rather than a inexpensive tourist replica, the concern emerges on how does one tell apart the real thing from the fakes?
It would be quite frustrating to bring home a piece only to find out later on that it isn't genuine and 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 presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more careful elsewhere in Canada, particularly in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are offered.
The safest places to buy Inuit sculptures to make sure authenticity are constantly the trustworthy galleries that specialize in Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. A few of these galleries have advertisements in the city tourist guides found in hotels.
Reliable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will generally be located in the downtown tourist locations of significant cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be only Inuit art and maybe Native art however none of the other typical traveler mementos such as postcards or tee shirts . These galleries will have only genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with fakes or imitations . Simply to be even safer, make sure that the piece you have an interest in features a Canadian federal government Igloo tag certifying that it was handcrafted 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. So be aware that an anonymous piece may still be indeed genuine.
Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trusted online galleries that also specialize in genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a great option for purchasing Inuit art since the prices are usually lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Obviously, like other shopping on the internet, one should beware so when handling an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also include the main Igloo tags to ensure authenticity.
Some traveler stores do bring genuine Inuit art in addition to the other touristy souvenirs in order to cater to all types of tourists. When shopping at these types of shops, it is possible to tell apart the genuine pieces from the recreations. Genuine Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason should have some weight or mass to it. Stone is likewise cold to the touch. A reproduction made from 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 will never include an artist's signature. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the store shelves will look precisely like it. The piece is not authentic if there are duplicates of a certain piece with specific information. It is probably not genuine if a piece looks too perfect in information with outright straight bottoms or sides. Obviously, if a piece includes a sticker showing that is was made in an Asian country, then it is undoubtedly a fake. There will also be a big cost difference in between authentic pieces and the imitations.
This can be a genuine gray location to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have details on the artist, location where it was made Kurt Criter Denver and the year it was sculpted. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will always be the highest priced and are usually kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) rack within the shop.
Because Inuit art has been getting more and more global direct exposure, individuals may be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. If one is fortunate enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, 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 genuine. Trusted Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated totally to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have sites so you might go shopping and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.